Southface Energy Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581357547
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
4048723549
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Energy Resources Conservation and Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,643,950
Expenses
$8,576,087
Assets
$6,917,866
Liabilities
$3,460,874

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMES MARLOW (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JAMES MARLOW (PRESIDENT): $202,828 total reported compensation
  • LAURA CASE (VP OF GOODUS): $112,084 total reported compensation
  • NATHAN BESSETTE (VP OF TECH S): $109,280 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Southface promotes sustainable homes, workplaces, and communities through education, research, advocacy, and technical assistance.

What it reported doing in 2024

Advocacy: southface's advocacy team laid critical groundwork in 2024 to prepare for the 2025 integrated resource plan (irp) proceedings before Georgia's public service commission. We hosted six workshops to inform partners about key energy issues in the irp debate. Our advocacy extended to vital warehouse solar research and building strategic partnerships with the association of county commissioners, Georgia municipal association, carl vinson institute of government at uga, and atlanta regional commission-fostering collaboration toward shared goals and future policy initiatives. Education: in 2024, southface's education team equipped 2,224 individuals with the knowledge and skills to advance within the green building workforce. Through 57 trainings, workshops, and events, participants earned professional credentials such as home energy rater and duct and envelope tightness verifier, among others. Our instructor-led virtual and in-person courses ensure workers are prepared to thrive in the growing clean energy economy. Sustainable communities: southface supports municipalities in creating customized sustainability plans that prioritize clean energy and equity. In 2024, we led the dekalb clean energy & transportation transition plan, driving progress through strategic writing, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing municipal coordination. We also hosted and supported clean cities Georgia, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing clean transportation. Our events, webinars, and outreach engaged approximately 1,600 people directly and reached an additional 10,000 across the state.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 61% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 57% for direct work, and 43% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.9%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.76 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.7%; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.9% of revenue deployed · 84.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $203K · 24 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 87 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 74 filed related-organization links
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.