The Greening of Detroit

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
310036036
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Detroit, MI, USA
Phone
3132378733
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Beautification and Aesthetics

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,914,773
Expenses
$4,817,481
Assets
$5,557,893
Liabilities
$87,888

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LIONEL BRADFORD (PRESIDENT)
  • MONICA TABARES (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • LIONEL BRADFORD (PRESIDENT): $172,125 total reported compensation
  • MONICA TABARES (VICE PRESIDENT): $127,541 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 greening of detroit's mission is the sustainable growth of a healthy urban community through trees, green spaces, healthy living, education, training and job opportunities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The detroit conservation corps (dcc) provides certified pre-apprenticeship training in urban forestry, integrated with case management, work-readiness support, and job placement services. The program is designed to prepare detroit residentsparticularly those who have faced barriers to employmentfor sustainable, well-paying careers in the tree care and landscaping industries.graduates are placed in jobs that support families and communities, including tree planting and maintenance roles. Dcc serves as a talent pipeline for local employers and helps to build a diverse, inclusive workforce, empowering detroiters with the skills to achieve long-term economic stability.in 2024, the greening of detroit continued its mission with the goal of training 2,400 detroit residents over five years. This year, 109 residents graduated from the dcc program, with 92% placed in jobs at organizations such as davey tree, the city of detroit general services department, payne's landscaping, teddy's landscaping, and the greening's own planting crews.dcc also operates as a social enterprise, taking on public and private landscaping projects that provide both hands-on experience and paid employment for graduates.the green corps program offers meaningful summer job opportunities for underserved youth in detroit, focusing on tree maintenance, green space care, and conservation. Since 1998, the program has employed over 1,708 detroit youth, providing both environmental education and real-world job skills.in 2024, 112 youth (ages 1418) participated in the six-week summer program, supported by 17 young adult crew leaders. An additional crew of 20 youth and 2 leaders continued working into the fall tree planting season. Participants care for trees across more than 185 planting sites, beautify parks and neighborhoods, and engage in conservation work that builds environmental awareness and community pride.the green corps program combines work experience with service learning and enrichment activities that introduce youth to careers in environmental science and natural resource management.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 86.7%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.15; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85% of revenue deployed · 86.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $172K · 22 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.