Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Legal name: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 310669700
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Cincinnati, OH, United States
- Phone
- 513-241-2880
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Community Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $183,703,186
- Expenses
- $200,558,735
- Assets
- $1,028,372,436
- Liabilities
- $11,335,023
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MATTHEW RANDAZZO (CEO & PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MATTHEW RANDAZZO (CEO & PRESIDENT): $636,782 total reported compensation
- MELISSA KRABBE (CFO/TREASURER): $249,533 total reported compensation
- SARAH WEISS (CHIEF PHILANTHROPY OFFICER): $228,188 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Greater Cincinnati Foundation connects generous people with trusted nonprofits to create a vibrant tri-state region where every person has a fair opportunity to thrive. Jacob E. Davis Volunteer Leadership Award Jacob (Jake) E. Davis was Greater Cincinnati Foundation’s first Governing Board chairman and the Foundation’s volunteer director from 1978 until 1987. Jake gave generously of his time, energy, wisdom and personal resources to help the community and to develop GCF’s assets. His contributions to schools, universities, church, healthcare institutions, United Way, and to civic endeavors at the local, state and national levels reflect his belief that the individual can have a positive impact on his or her community by making and fulfilling a personal commitment to address community issues. GCF mourned Jake’s passing in early 2003.
What it reported doing in 2024
Donor advised grantmaking: donor advised funds allow donors to recommend grants to nonprofit organizations of their choice over time. The greater cincinnati foundation has approximately 1,122 donor advised funds with a combined market value of more than $431 million. The foundation encourages philanthropy by providing this flexible vehicle for donors to achieve their individual charitable objectives. Gcf welcomes the opportunity to partner with people who want to be actively involved in grantmaking.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 84% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 96
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 48
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 95.5%; rating input score 96
- Fundraising efficiency: $72.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th 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: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Fail
- Conducts field audits: Fail
- May suspend future funding: Fail
- Requires financial reports: Fail
- Conducts site visits: Fail
- Requires grant agreements: Fail
- May require repayment: Fail
- Grant itemization coverage: 99.3%; rating input score 99; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- 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: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -9.2%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.13; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.3%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $191.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $637K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1419 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1359 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: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.