Tampa Bay Wave Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 274779851
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2012, Form 990-N 2011
- Location
- Tampa, FL, USA
- Phone
- 8669283066
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Small Business Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,673,679
- Expenses
- $4,523,511
- Assets
- $2,806,538
- Liabilities
- $2,076,105
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
31 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LINDA OLSON (PRESIDENT/CEO)
- ALFRED GOLDBERG (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- RICHARD MUNASSI (ACCELERATOR MANAGING DIRECTOR): $224,228 total reported compensation
- LINDA OLSON (PRESIDENT/CEO): $192,435 total reported compensation
- DEMELZA GENEST (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $175,686 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
See schedule o. Headquartered in downtown tampa, tampa bay wave is a by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs 501(c)(3) non-profit founded in february 2011 with a mission to accelerate Florida's innovation economy by helping entrepreneurs transform innovative ideas into real-world solutions and scalable businesses in tampa bay and communities elsewhere.
What it reported doing in 2025
Seed project - the seed project is an investigation into launching a seed fund to support the growth and sustainability of high-potential startups that have participated in the organization's programming. The seed fund is intended to provide early-stage equity investments to qualified companies and drive economic impact by fostering a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem in the tampa bay region.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 80% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 49% for direct work, and 51% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 93
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 78.6%; rating input score 79
- Program expense ratio: 81.2%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $21.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 96.3%; rating input score 96; 26th 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: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.2%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.74; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.4%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16.8% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 22% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 78.6% of revenue deployed · 81.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 26 of 27 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $224K · 31 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $2.2M reported
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 26 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 20 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 9/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.