Square Roots
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 333098270
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025
- Location
- Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Phone
- 6128502731
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Employment Procurement Assistance
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $12,500
- Expenses
- $12,500
- Assets
- $0
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
1 person listed
People named in this filing
- Jared Brewington (Community Director)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To cultivate a thriving and equitable community by providing exceptional and accessible culinary experiences, while empowering young adults (18-24) with the skills, mentorship, and opportunities necessary for successful careers in the hospitality industry and beyond.
What it reported doing in 2025
During the 2025 fiscal period, Square Roots focused on the critical pre-operational infrastructure required to fulfill its mission to cultivate a thriving and equitable community. The organization achieved the following milestones in carrying out its exempt purposes: Site Feasibility and Design: The organization successfully completed comprehensive architectural and site feasibility assessments leading up to its primary hospitality laboratory at the Historic Coliseum Building (2708 East Lake St). This achievement ensured the 6,600 sq. ft. facility is technically equipped to serve as both a high-volume community kitchen and a professional vocational classroom. This professional due diligence secured the physical foundation necessary to provide "exceptional and accessible culinary experiences" to the East Lake corridor. Strategic Capacity Building: Square Roots engaged specialized fundraising and strategic consulting services to secure a $1.95M annual operating model. These services were essential in establishing the Food Access Fund, which will subsidize restaurant ingredient costs to ensure high-quality menu options remain affordable for the community. Programmatic Mentorship Framework: The organization formalized its Culinary Advisory Board, engaging industry leaders support a 22-week residency curriculum. While the program remained in the ramp-up phase, these professional services established the mentorship, certification standards, and job-placement protocols required to empower the inaugural cohort of 26 disadvantaged young adults scheduled for the 2026 residency launch. Persons Benefited: While direct service to apprentices and diners commences in the subsequent fiscal period, the 2025 achievements established the operational capacity to benefit 26 young adult residents annually and provide food equity access to an estimated 15,000+ neighborhood residents through the subsidized dining program.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 100
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 28
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 0%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 1 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 1 filed schedules
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.