Union Square Business Improvement District Dba Union Square Alliance
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 943159152
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Francisco, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4157817880
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $11,124,878
- Expenses
- $10,915,166
- Assets
- $6,321,804
- Liabilities
- $3,768,462
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
30 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARISA RODRIGUEZ (CEO)
- DONALD THOMAS (Vice President)
- MARK PURDY (President)
Highest reported compensation
- MARISA RODRIGUEZ (CEO): $394,479 total reported compensation
- BENJAMIN HORNE (CFO): $235,745 total reported compensation
- KEN RICH (Policy Director): $148,626 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 alliance serves its members and creates a complete neighborhood experience by managing public spaces; supporting existing businesses and attracting new investments; and convening, partnering, and advocating for the district's success.
What it reported doing in 2024
Public realm improvements, marketing & events, advocacy: public realm programs include improvements like landscaping, signage, lighting, holiday decor and activating public space. Advocacy includes promoting a clean, safe and vibrant district to assure a good experience for the visitors, residents and employees. Advocacy gives the district a single voice in matters that may affect the members. Marketing includes production of website and social media pages for visitors, residents and members, production of welcome kits and collateral for merchants and members, guides and maps of the district, special events and campaigns to draw visitors to the area.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 70% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 98
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.9%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $9.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 95.7%; rating input score 96; 29th 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: 1.9%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.58; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.6; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 86.9% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 22 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $9.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $394K · 30 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $486K reported
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.