The Columbus Partnership

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
352558300
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Columbus, OH, USA
Phone
6142250500
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,865,769
Expenses
$10,340,008
Assets
$9,449,640
Liabilities
$2,349,429

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

Leadership & pay

85 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KENNETH D MCDONALD (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
  • JEFF POLESOVSKY (VICE PRESIDENT OF PUBLIC P)
  • MARK PATTON (VICE PRESIDENT, NEW BUSINE)

Highest reported compensation

  • KENNETH D MCDONALD (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $642,797 total reported compensation
  • SEAN GRANT (CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFIC): $490,585 total reported compensation
  • MARK PATTON (VICE PRESIDENT, NEW BUSINE): $383,853 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Economic development: investigation and study of various areas of need for the development of plans and programs to be undertaken and the creation of strategies and programming to begin executing the same.

What it reported doing in 2024

Other projects - the organization takes on various short-term projects from time to time which are of immediate and/or transient interest. If a project is not sufficiently well-defined in time or purpose, it falls within this category.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 76% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 20%; rating input score 20; 9th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.8%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.91; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.7%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 80 of 80 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments
  • Leadership: top reported pay $643K · 85 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 13 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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: Grant itemization coverage scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.