The Downtown Sailing Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521867434
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Baltimore, MD, USA
Phone
4107270722
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Swimming & Other Water Recreation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,374,491
Expenses
$1,061,144
Assets
$1,283,885
Liabilities
$747,429

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Douglas Silber (Executive Director)
  • Marty Fetsch (President)

People named in this filing

  • Eric Eppler (Secretary)
  • Lynn Handy (Treasurer)
  • Kaitlyn Lucey (Member-at-large)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The Downtown Sailing Center provides quality life enriching programs that promote self-esteem and teamwork through the joy of sailing. The Downtown Sailing Center is committed to promoting an environment of inclusiveness and accessibility, especially to youth, persons with disabilities, and those with limited opportunity.

What it reported doing in 2023

Junior Camp and Adult Education- The Downtown Sailing Center (DSC) began offering youth sailing programs in 1990 to make sailing available and convenient to all Baltimore-area children. Sailing is an exhilarating way for children to develop teamwork skills, improve concentration, and become more self-confident. The Downtown Sailing Center is an accredited US Sailing school that provides courses for all experience levels. Our unified curriculum lets every student reach their full potential by developing skills in a logical progression while offering tailored instruction for every member of our community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 46.6%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 59.2%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.8%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.21; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 46.6% of revenue deployed · 59.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 14 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $628K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 47/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.