Catholic Charities of Denver
Legal name: Catholic Charities & Community Serv of the Archdiocese of Denver
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 840686679
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Jul 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Denver, CO, USA
- Phone
- 3037420828
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $44,937,049
- Expenses
- $47,649,459
- Assets
- $37,396,317
- Liabilities
- $4,035,062
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
26 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DARREN WALSH (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- DARREN WALSH (CEO): $292,688 total reported compensation
- CRAIG SAEMAN (CHIEF DEVELP): $205,944 total reported compensation
- TERRY PELTES (CHIEF PROG/M): $158,474 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
As the charitable arm of the Archdiocese of Denver, and inspired by God’s love and compassion, Catholic Charities extends the healing ministry of Jesus Christ to the poor and those in need. Director of Philanthropy, Mission Advancement Team Tom KaiserI joined Catholic Charities because my passion is to serve God by serving the people in our community. At Catholic Charities we are doing "Jesus 101" by practicing the corporal works of mercy by providing food, clothing, shelter and so much more for those who need a hand up. I was raised in the Midwest and spent much of my life in St. Louis, Mo. I graduated from St. Louis University with a degree in Finance and Marketing, and most of my career was spent in the medical device industry. I married my college sweetheart Gigi and we have been blessed with four children and two beautiful granddaughters. My family and I enjoy hiking, camp.
What it reported doing in 2024
The larimer county division provides temporary shelter and meals as well as case management for individuals experiencing homelessness at sam house in fort collins. In addition, it also provides transitional housing services, services to low-income seniors, and emergency assistance to individuals and families in need of basic necessities in larimer county and the surrounding area. The western slope division provides family transitional housing services, immigration assistance and advocacy, and emergency assistance to individuals and families in need of basic necessities, including food, rent, and utilities to clients in the glenwood springs and surrounding western slope of Colorado.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 32
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.8%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 85.5%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -6%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.78; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.4%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 90.8% of revenue deployed · 85.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $40.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $293K · 26 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.2M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 7 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.