Enrichmond Foundation

The information for Enrichmond Foundation is as of the organization's most recent filing in December 2019. This organization is located in Richmond, VA. It has been in existence for 25 years, following its founding in 1994.

Organization Classification

The IRS classifies organizations according to the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) system. The NTEE system helps the IRS assign a 3-character code to each organization to describe the organization's activities.

The Enrichmond Foundation's NTEE code is S80. The "S" tells us that the organization is classified along with Community Service Clubs. The "80" tells us that the organization is a Community Improvement & Capacity Building organization. The NTEE describes Community Improvement & Capacity Building organizations as organizations whose members are business and professional men and/or women or other individuals who have a common interest in improving the life of the community, which conduct fund-raising events to finance community service projects.

Every organization is also governed by a specific section of the Internal Revenue Code. The most common type is a 501(c)(3) organization. However, there are actually 29 different types of organizations that are identified by the Internal Revenue Code. This organization happens to be a 501(c)(3) organization. The IRS describes these organizations as those engaged in Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Public Safety, Amateur Sports, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals work.

Perhaps the most accurate way to get a sense of what the organization hopes to achieve is by looking at its mission. The mission of the Enrichmond Foundation is to support parks, recreation, and cultural arts through citizen involvement, education, and fundraising.

Program Areas

Program Area 1: Partner Funds allows the organization to act as an umbrella not-for-profit organization for over one hundred volunteer groups and special initiatives, or "Friends" groups. These groups work to maintain, restore, preserve, or improve Richmond's public recreation resources.

Program Area 2: 17th Street Events works to increase accessibility, improve health, and highlight equity in parks and public spaces through special events like Richmond Dog Fest, East End Festival, and Brunswick Stew and Stout, as well as programming food truck courts, movie nights, yoga, and other activities.

Program Area 3: Evergreen Cemetery is a historic African-American cemetery created in 1891 and located in the East End of Richmond, Virginia. This program area is focused on placing the cemetery under a conservation easement to protect it from future development, as well as enlisting volunteer, professional, and nonprofit assistance to return Evergreen to an accessible site. There are an estimated 10,000 plots in Evergreen.

Program Area 4: The organization focuses on beautifying and improving the city of Richmond through ornamental plant production, planting, and education with a focus on native species. In addition, the organization provides a vibrant community space with healthy, sustainably sourced foods and activities and events designed to engage and entertain the foundation's neighbors. Total expenses for Treelab were 154,138 and total expenses for the 17th Street Market were 139,851.

Organization Staffing

Enrichmond Foundation is run by John Sydnor, who is the Executive Director. The organization has 11 employees, none of whom are paid more than $100k per year (according to the organization's most recent 990 tax filing). Supporting the paid staff are more than 3,764 volunteers.

Board Governance

The Enrichmond Foundation is well-governed with 11 voting members and 11 independent members, ensuring that no potential conflicts of interest exist. The organization has delegated management to an internal team, and board and committee meetings are documented. The organization also has a conflict of interest policy and requires disclosure of conflicts, as well as a written whistleblower policy. The organization substantiates and reviews leadership salary, and provides copies of the 990 to the board prior to filing. Unfortunately, the organization does not have a document retention policy, nor does it substantiate and review officer's salaries. Despite these shortcomings, the Enrichmond Foundation is well-governed and is taking the necessary steps to ensure its operations are transparent and accountable.

Organization Growth

Overall, the Enrichmond Foundation has significantly grown over the past four years. Contributions and Grants Received, Program Service Revenue, Employee Salaries, Total Expenses, Total Employees, and Total Volunteers have all increased. Total Revenue has increased from $629.5K in 2015 to $1.2M in 2019. Additionally, the number of volunteers has grown from 1.5K in 2015 to 3.8K in 2019.