Black Environmental Leaders Association
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 852819234
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Solon, OH, USA
- Phone
- 4405868577
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Professional Societies, Associations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,079,075
- Expenses
- $1,019,872
- Assets
- $329,214
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- SeMia Bray (Co-Director): $96,000 total reported compensation
- David Wilson (Board Member): $42,000 total reported compensation
- Joceyln Travis (Board Member): $4,650 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Black Environmental Leaders Association stands as stewards of the natural and built environmentthrough collaboration and partnership, to raise awareness and advocate for environmental andeconomic justice.
What it reported doing in 2024
Advocate - Operating and programmatic support of environmental and economic jusice educationaladvocacy, impacting the built and natural environment, to include participation in coalitions andcollaborations.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 90% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and the organization raises money at a relatively low cost. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 61
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 54.7%; rating input score 55
- Program expense ratio: 57.9%; rating input score 58
- Fundraising efficiency: $5,449.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Limited
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5.5%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 31.2% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -7.7% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 54.7% of revenue deployed · 57.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $590K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 8 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $368K reported
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.