The Compound Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
824930672
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Baltimore, MD, USA
Phone
4434658856
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Arts Council/Agency

Reported finances

Revenue
$200,331
Expenses
$149,148
Assets
$1,679,109
Liabilities
$627,273

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARLON ZIELLO (President)
  • Derrick Adams (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • NICHOLAS WISNIEWSKI (Treasurer): $1,846 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The compound is an artist-run nonprofit that supports the collective production of experimental cultural, social and urban space in baltimore city. We do this by developing and renting out affordable and safe housing, studio space, and event space for artists and artisans. The compound , our flagship space, also produces vibrant cultural and community programming and serves as an incubator for local small businesses, nonprofits, and volunteer ventures that serve our east baltimore midway community.

What it reported doing in 2023

The compound provides below market-rate housing and studio space for 24 artists and artisans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 70% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 61
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.7%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 81.5%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 25.5%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.26; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -28% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 31.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.7% of revenue deployed · 81.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $122K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $2K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2019 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 41/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.