The Economic Progress Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 320295517
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Providence, RI, USA
- Phone
- 4014568512
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $868,083
- Expenses
- $1,026,724
- Assets
- $702,026
- Liabilities
- $37,689
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- WEAYONNOH NELSON-DAVIES (EXECUTIVE DI): $120,750 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The organization's mission is to improve the economic security of low and modest-income rhode islanders and monitor and encourage the development of tax and budget policies that are equitable and adequate to fund public services.
What it reported doing in 2024
The institute works to ensure the efficacy and sustanability of worker friendly work place policies such as paid family leave. Rhode Island was a leader in creating one of the nation's first paid leave programs for its workers - the temporary caregiver insurance program (tci) in january 2014. We work with community organizations to ensure individuals know about program and that the administration of the program works for workers. We also worked with a coalition of organizations to provide economic policy analysis showing why paid sick leave are important, especially for lower- wage workers and workers of color, and helped explain the intersection and importance of Rhode Island offering both paid family leave earned sick days.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 23
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 81.4%; rating input score 81
- Program expense ratio: 68.5%; rating input score 69
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 86.8%; rating input score 87; 37th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -18.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.68; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 11.8%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 81.4% of revenue deployed · 68.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $703K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $121K · 17 people listed
- Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- 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.
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.