Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 2001.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
57 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
29 people listed on the 990; $102K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Gary Gaston’s $118K as Chief Executive Officer is at the 29th percentile of top reported officer pay among 2832 $1–10M community development 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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Gaston | $117,847 | — | — | $106,009 | $96,756 | $101,846 |
| Gary Gatson | — | $113,603 | $109,000 | — | — | — |
| Kaitlin Dastugue | $95,139 | $93,295 | — | — | — | — |
| Jules Shainberg | — | — | — | — | $45,764 | — |
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 Civic Design Center executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Improves Nashville's built environment and encourages public input for a better city.
Questions for Civic Design Center
Your first name shows with your question. Civic Design Center answers here, for everyone.
The civic design center's education program, design your neighborhood, teaches youth how to problem-solve transportation and affordable housing issues in their neighborhoods while building awareness and exposure to the world around them.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2019. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 31-1743508) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $199K | $151K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $11K | $371K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $341K | $698K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $62K | $304K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $279K | $394K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $108K | $29K | $65K | $14K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $347K | $189K | $143K | $15K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $12K | $6K | $6K | $794 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $64K | $31K | $29K | $4K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $42K | $20K | $19K | $3K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $10K | $10K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $108K | $102K | $3K | $2K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $15K | $12K | $3K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $17K | $15K | $2K | $220 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $6K | $5K | $966 | $322 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $35K | $28K | $6K | $708 |
| TravelLn 17 | $11K | $11K | ||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $2K | $1K | $198 | $66 |
| InterestLn 20 | $3K | $3K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $52K | $52K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $5K | $5K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $137K | $107K | $30K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $5K | $5K | $468 | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $979K | $561K | $377K | $41K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Dec 19, 2025 | $1.9M | $1.8M | $41K | $1.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Nov 5, 2024 | $2.2M | $1.6M | $556K | $1.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Dec 20, 2023 | $1.4M | $1.4M | $10K | $944K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Mar 30, 2023 | $1.4M | $1.2M | $243K | $912K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Mar 30, 2022 | $1.2M | $907K | $274K | $668K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS May 17, 2021 | $1.1M | $979K | $115K | $394K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990
Part I · Summary $1,094,250 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 25 of 25 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,094,250 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $978,833 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $698,289 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $394,431 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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