The Ross Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811269156
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone
4632227550
Rating
30
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$408,829
Expenses
$301,300
Assets
$150,624
Liabilities
$10,773

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

1 person listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DERRIS ROSS (FOUNDER, CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DERRIS ROSS (FOUNDER, CEO): $24,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To address racial inequities through advocacy and by removing barriers to resources, services, and wellness programs.

What it reported doing in 2023

After school youth programs, including mental support

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 74% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

REVIEW - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue has grown recently. 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: 0
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Program expense ratio: 0%; rating input score 0
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 26.3%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -200% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 37.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 0% of revenue deployed · 0% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 1 board members independent · 0 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $78K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $24K · 1 people listed
  • Consistency: 9 of 11 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2022 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.