Rhizome Action Network INC EIN 87-1985174 Form 990 (PDF) Claim this org

Rhizome Action Network INC

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Empowers youth to turn their identities into lifelong civic action and meaningful service. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $1.0M in revenue, $1.0M in expenses, and $600K in net assets.Pt I

Type
Public charity (501(c)(3)) · Youth Development
Location
Lewes, DE
Filings
4 on file (2022–2025)
Revenue
$1.0MFY2025
Expenses
$1.0M
Net assets
$600K
People
8
Filings
4
Updates
0
More identity details & actions ⌄
EIN  87-1985174 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Lewes, DE
Form 990 (PDF)
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Empowers youth to turn their identities into lifelong civic action and meaningful service.
Leadership
Jacob Merkle · CEO · $170K
Money in and out
$1.0M revenue, $1.0M expenses
Bottom line
85% program efficiency
Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$1.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.0M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$600K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$12K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.05
Program efficiency
85%
of spending reaches programs▼ -8% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
2.9mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +32% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-1%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -103% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$1.0M
FY2025▼ -14%
Expenses
$1.0M
FY2025▲ +36%
Total assets
$621K
FY2025▼ -2%
Total liabilities
$22K
FY2025▼ -6%
Total revenue
$1.0M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$1.0M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$600K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$12K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$621K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B85%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 33
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 43
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $890K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Youth Organizing and Civic Service Fellowship

Paid program for youth organizers to learn how to engage community members while training and supporting civic service fellows. Fellows build community, receive training in civic engagement, and lead local actions based on the inclusive, nonviolent, nonpartisan ideas they are most passionate about.

$643Kprogram expense
02

General Programs

General programs includes support for the civic service fellowship provided through strategic coordinator, lead regional organizers, and staff members. It also includes resources to support local actions, evaluation, and implementation of leadership development trainings.

$237Kprogram expense
03

Leadership Summits

In-person convenings that enable strategic planning, leadership development for young people, and deepening alignment around our strategy and vision.

$9Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CRhizome Action Network INC
EINHdr · item D87-1985174
Principal addressHdr · item CLewes, DE
WebsiteHdr · item Jnone reported
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MDE
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFYouth Development (O20)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMar 2022

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a3
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b3
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 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
$170,417Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Systems Design and Partnerships
$85,589Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Training and Belonging
$64,998Pt VII · Sec A
Director of People and Legal Affairs
$23,395Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Operations and Data Strategy
$7,413Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Jacob Merkle’s $170K as CEO is at the 77th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1547 $1–10M youth 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 · 7 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023
Jacob Merkle$170,417$41,868
Erin Barry$85,589$12,097
Jasmine Whaley$64,998$2,805
Molly Fashola$23,395
Dayron Rojas$9,570
Olivia Berry$7,413$1,991
Jacob Merkle$6,960

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.

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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants100%$1.0M
Investment income$2K
Total revenueLn 12$1.0M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.05
Program services85%$890K
Management & general10%$101K
Fundraising5%$56K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.0M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$254K
Total assetsLn 16$621K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$22K
Total net assetsLn 32$600K
Months of cash on handcomputed2.9

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $254K · Operating expenses/yr $1.0M
2.9 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $890K · Total expenses $1.0M
85%
Management & General
Management & general $101K · Total expenses $1.0M
10%
Fundraising
Fundraising $56K · Total expenses $1.0M
5%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $30K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $1.1M
$0.03 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1.0M · Total revenue $1.0M
100%
Government reliance
Government grants $0 · Total revenue $1.0M
0%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $1.0M
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $2K · Total revenue $1.0M
+0.2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $1.0M
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $1.0M · Prior year $1.2M
-14%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $600K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $1.0M · Expenses $1.0M
-1%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $621K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $600K · Total assets $621K
97%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $2 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $621K
<0.01%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Jacob Merkle · Reported title CEO · Highest reported compensation $170K · Total expenses $1.0M
16%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $553K · Total expenses $1.0M
53%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 85%
Overhead ratio 10%
Fundraising cost ratio 5%
Revenue growth -14%
Legal fee ratio 1.0%
Accounting fee ratio 2%

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 10 funders →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$1.0M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$1.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$174K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$26K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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