Woodson Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 521217891
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Washington, DC, USA
- Phone
- 2025186500
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,066,634
- Expenses
- $6,284,318
- Assets
- $11,727,373
- Liabilities
- $549,254
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ROBERT WOODSON SR (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ROBERT WOODSON SR (PRESIDENT): $538,820 total reported compensation
- JULIA NELSON (COO): $210,879 total reported compensation
- RICK D GAINER (TREASURER): $145,783 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To empower community-based leaders to promote solutions that reduce crime and violence, restore families, revitalize underserved communities and assist in the creation of economic enterprise.
What it reported doing in 2024
1776 unites - launched in february of 2020, 1776 unites is a movement to liberate tens of millions of americans by helping them become agents of their own uplift and transformation. It represents a nonpartisan and intellectually diverse alliance of writers, thinkers, and activists focused on solutions to our country's greatest challenges in education, culture, and upward mobility. Our scholars and activists frequently appear on national and local media, making the case for limited government and the application of free market principles to social problems. Our on-the-ground activists regularly provide evidence for the efficacy of this approach. 1776 unites maintains a special focus on voices in the black community that celebrate black excellence, reject victimhood culture, and showcase the millions of black americans who prosper by embracing america's founding ideals. Because suffering in the black community is frequently weaponized against our country, we believe it is crucial black patriots be among its most vocal defenders. 1776 unites offerings include essays and white papers by our scholars, a series of public events featuring both scholars and activists, and a free curriculum with new lessons released monthly.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 52% for direct work, and 48% for grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
- Program expense ratio: 89.9%; rating input score 90
- Fundraising efficiency: $22.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 88.1%; rating input score 88; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 17th 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: -3.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.87; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.8%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 89.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $539K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $792K reported
- Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 36 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 29 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.