The Nicholson Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
833790431
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
7035982420
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$344,773
Expenses
$294,509
Assets
$447,183
Liabilities
$89,025

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ALLISON NANCE (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $77,728 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

An artist residency program coupled with a neighborhood garden that works to support artists and serve as a creative and innovative cultural hub.

What it reported doing in 2024

Artist residency - the nicholson project's artist residency program comprised four ten-week, in-house residencies and four one-week digital residencies. In-house residents were awarded a ten-week residency to live and work on-site in a fully furnished apartment and artist studio, a $5,000 stipend, support from guest curators and staff, $2,000 to develop a public engagement program or art activation, documentation of their artwork; and professional development opportunities. Digital residents received $500 for a five-day online residency, shared across social media, and archived on the nicholson project website.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.6%; rating input score 57
  • Program expense ratio: 66.2%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.6%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.52; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 48.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.6% of revenue deployed · 66.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $195K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $78K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.