The Global Institute on Innovation Districts Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841811424
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
3322842821
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,476,197
Expenses
$1,282,549
Assets
$1,158,499
Liabilities
$139,100

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIE WAGNER (VICE-CHAIR (SEE SCHEDULE O)): $224,928 total reported compensation
  • PAMELA PUCHALSKI (SECRETARY): $163,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Giid's mission is to advance and accelerate the growth of innovation districts worldwide through deep empirical analysis, highly tailored strategic support, and through a global network. Through giid, we will help accelerate how innovation districts become a multiplier of growth: transforming local and regional economies; developing new solutions for complex problems ranging from cancer to climate; and creating new laddres of opportunity for regional residents.

What it reported doing in 2024

The work of giid has expanded significantly to address the fast-changing economic and technological landscape. Our empirical work expands to evaluating clusters or constellations of disricts and other hubs across regions. Our global network is digging deeper into how districts are driving specific solutions that others simply cannot deliver given the complexity of the science. Our strategic support is expanding deeper into addressing health-based challenges that require cellular therapies and radiopharmacology. Giid, in other words, is expanding in both depth and breadth to be change-agents at the global scale.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - Most voting board members are independent and program spending has grown recently. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 49
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59.9%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 68.9%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.1%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.9; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.6% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 59.9% of revenue deployed · 68.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $884K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $225K · 7 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 23 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D revenue reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.