What does the initial application ask for?

The initial application takes less than 10 minutes to complete. It asks for basic company information (e.g. physical address, year founded, industry, etc.), primary contact’s information, and 2015 and 2019 gross revenues. ICIC uses this information to determine your company’s eligibility for the IC100 award. If you meet the initial qualifying criteria, we will request you to complete the extended application to verify your previously submitted information and secure your position as a finalist.

What does the extended application ask for?

The extended application takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. It contains questions related to the demographic profile of the highest-level senior executive, company profile, wages and benefits, customer and sourcing, and financing. It also asks for the first page of your business’s 2015 and 2019 tax returns. ICIC uses this information to determine your eligibility for the award and your business’s ranking on the IC100 list. We also use this information to inform our research and programs that support firms in under-resourced communities.

Given that some of the questions ask for specific data, ICIC recommends that the highest-level senior executive fills out the extended application and that they have the following information and documents on hand:

• Full-time employee and part-time employee worker headcounts for end-of-year 2015, 2018 and 2019
• Average salaries in 2019 for senior managers and salaried and hourly employees
• Customer breakdown by both type and geography for 2019 (estimations)
• Location of suppliers by geography for 2019 (estimations)
• 2015 and 2019 tax returns (first page only)

Why do I need to submit the first page of my 2015 and 2019 tax returns as part of the extended application?

ICIC asks for the first page of your 2015 and 2019 tax returns because we and our auditing partner AAFCPAs use these documents to verify submitted revenue and employment numbers. As such, we need only the following information from your tax return: name, physical address, employer identification number, gross receipts or sales, salaries and wages, and total compensations to partners/officers. If you would like, feel free to redact information outside of what we need.

If I don’t want to submit the first page of my 2015 and 2019 tax returns, what is an alternative document I can submit?

An alternative document you can submit is the financial verification form. It needs to be completed and signed by the highest-level senior executive and a cosigner, who can work at your company or be an external party, as long as they are one of the following:

• A Certified Public Accountant
• An IRS Certified Enrolled Agent
• A Certified Management Account
• An Attorney

Once you complete all aspects of the financial verification form, submit it via this LINK.

Who will see my application data?

The initial and extended applications ask for confidential business information, which ICIC uses to evaluate your eligibility for the IC100. All information and documents submitted at each stage of the application process will be fully protected. Access to them will be strictly limited to ICIC personnel and our auditing partner AAFCPAs. If your company becomes a 2020 IC100 winner, the verified 2019 revenue and the revenue and employment growth from 2015 to 2019 will be published as part of your company profile on Fortune.

The applications also ask for personal information such as the applicant’s name and contact information. We use your personal information for contact purposes. This personal information may be shared with ICIC program sponsors, nominating partners, and other program participants. You can opt out of having your personal information shared via the first two questions we ask in the extended application or by emailing InnerCity100@icic.org.

Additional information about how we use your personal information and your rights regarding your personal information can be found in ICIC’s complete privacy policy, which is available here.

What will happen to my 2015 and 2019 tax returns after the 2020 IC100 program cycle?

Once the 2020 IC100 award is published, we will delete all 2015 and 2019 tax returns that were submitted as part of the extended application process.

IF YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT IC100 DATA SECURITY, CONTACT VI MAI, IC100 MANAGER, AT VMAI@ICIC.ORG OR (617) 238-3038.