The Providence Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237423032
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Providence, RI, USA
- Phone
- 4015213248
- Rating
- 63
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $503,833
- Expenses
- $430,607
- Assets
- $316,018
- Liabilities
- $14,345
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID SALVATORE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- DAVID SALVATORE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $83,812 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 foundation originates and advocates policies and projects for the development of downtown and the city of providence. It plays a leadership role in planning for downtown. Its primary focus is to create an environment that is conducive to economic development and sustained investment in downtown and the creation of a vibrant neighborhood. The foundation identifies and acts upon opportunities and targes projects and policies that have a catalytic efect; and coordinates projects and groups involved in the downtown. The foundation brings private sector expertise to the development of policies, plans and projects. The foundation, working with the city, is a generator and keeper of the vision for downtown.
What it reported doing in 2024
The foundation operates various programs and long-term visionary projects relative to the revitalization of downtown providence. Such programs and projects include the downtown providence parks conservancy, which works to enhance public spaces, the providence resilience partnership, which supports the mobilization of the city's diverse communities to combat climate change, and the vitality program, which seeks to generate intersest in downtown and create a vibrant environment that draws visitors and business to downdown providence.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Membership-supported. 76% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
- 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 35
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 50
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 36.6%; rating input score 37
- Program expense ratio: 41.6%; rating input score 42
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 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: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 14.5%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 19.5%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -6.9% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 36.6% of revenue deployed · 41.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $179K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $84K · 24 people listed
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 37/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 42/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.