Common Ground Relief INC EIN 06-1816720 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Common Ground Relief INC

Not yet claimed Claim this org →

Restores and preserves coastal wetlands through volunteer-led planting and education. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $346K in revenue, $375K in expenses, and $205K in net assets.Pt I

Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Public Safety & Disaster
Location
New Orleans, LA
Website
www.commongroundrelief.org
Filings
5 on file (2020–2024)
Revenue
$346KFY2024
Expenses
$375K
Net assets
$205K
People
12
Filings
5
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  06-1816720 Public charity (501(c)(3)) New Orleans, LA
Form 990 (PDF)
Compare with another nonprofit →
Is this your organization?
Claim this profile to manage it and share your story.
Claim
Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Common Ground Relief INC claims this page.

Know this organization? Claim it to add your story

Size
$100K–1M
What they do
Restores and preserves coastal wetlands through volunteer-led planting and education.
Leadership
Nicholas Karel · President
Money in and out
$346K revenue, $375K expenses
Bottom line
83% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$346K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$375K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$205K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$30K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.83 Management & general $0.13 Fundraising $0.04
Program efficiency
83%
of spending reaches programs▼ -2% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
2.6mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -45% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-9%
revenue over expenses, this year▲ +66% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$346K
FY2024▲ +52%
Expenses
$375K
FY2024▲ +32%
Total assets
$293K
FY2024▼ -12%
Total liabilities
$88K
FY2024▼ -11%
Total revenue
$346K
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$375K
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$205K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$30K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$293K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B83%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 310
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 410

Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CCommon Ground Relief INC
EINHdr · item D06-1816720
Principal addressHdr · item CNew Orleans, LA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.commongroundrelief.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MLA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFPublic Safety & Disaster (M20)
Ruling yearIRS BMFAug 2007

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a10
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b10
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Joshua Benitez’s $45K as Co Director is at the 70th percentile of top reported officer pay among 830 $100K–1M public safety & disaster nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Joshua Benitez$45,000$40,000
Charlotte Clarke$31,640$40,000$36,000$6,667
Britt Aliperti$32,333
Christina Lehew$13,265

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

See Common Ground Relief INC executive salaries →

Are you one of these people? Claim this org to confirm your role

Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $312K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Restored dozens of linear miles of coastland throughout southeastern louisiana by planting 6,126 native trees, 28,527 plugs of marsh grass, and 5,000 native irises.

$125Kprogram expense
02

Hosted, guided,and educated 1,600 volunteers between the wetlands restoration and free pantry programs.

$125Kprogram expense
03

Maintained operations despite increased demand of the free pantry,which served an average of 75 families per week in 2024.

$62Kprogram expense

Run this program? Claim this org to tell your story

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$314K · 91%
Program service revenue$32K · 9%
Contributions & grants91%$314K
Program service revenue9%$32K
Total revenueLn 12$346K

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.83 Management & general $0.13 Fundraising $0.04
Program services83%$312K
Management & general13%$48K
Fundraising4%$15K
Total functional expensesLn 25$375K

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$82K
Total assetsLn 16$293K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$88K
Total net assetsLn 32$205K
Months of cash on handcomputed2.6

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $82K · Operating expenses/yr $375K
2.6 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $312K · Total expenses $375K
83%
Management & General
Management & general $48K · Total expenses $375K
13%
Fundraising
Fundraising $15K · Total expenses $375K
4%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $13K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $242K
$0.05 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $314K · Total revenue $346K
91%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $346K
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $32K · Total revenue $346K
9%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $346K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $32K · Total expenses $375K
8%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $346K · Prior year $228K
+52%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $162K · FY2024 $346K
+21%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $205K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $346K · Expenses $375K
-9%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $293K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $205K · Total assets $293K
70%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $293K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Nicholas Karel · Reported title PRESIDENT · Highest reported compensation $0 · Total expenses $375K
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $122K · Total expenses $375K
32%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 83%
Overhead ratio 13%
Fundraising cost ratio 5%
Revenue growth 52%
Accounting fee ratio 1%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 7 funders →

Similar Organizations

Closest in mission — by what they do
See all organizations like Common Ground Relief INC →

Compare

Search another nonprofit to view revenue, expenses, assets, key metrics, and leaders side by side

Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2024 (Latest)$346K revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$228K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$249K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$223K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$162K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

Want to add your own materials alongside these filings? Claim this org

Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.

Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown.

We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.

Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.

If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.

Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.

If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.

If you ARE the filing organization, claim this org and add context

Made it to the end? Claim this organization

All figures are derived from public IRS Form 990 filings and are presented without evaluation of any organization. philanthropy.org does not rate, score, or rank organizations, including the peer-cohort and compensation comparisons above.