Center for Community Alternatives Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
161395992
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Syracuse, NY, USA
Phone
3154225638
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,714,457
Expenses
$18,979,469
Assets
$14,584,701
Liabilities
$10,641,209

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

64 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DANIEL N ARSHACK (PRESIDENT)
  • RICHARD RAYSMAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID CONDLIFFE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID CONDLIFFE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $273,073 total reported compensation
  • MELANIE KING (NURSE PRACTITIONER): $175,152 total reported compensation
  • KATHERINE SCHAFFER (DIRECTOR OF ADVOCACY AND O): $162,523 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To promote reintegrative justice and a reduced reliance on incarceration through advocacy, services and public policy development in pursuit of civil and human rights.

What it reported doing in 2024

Youth services: cca offers an array of programs serving at-risk youth in New York city and syracuse, New York. In nyc, cca oversees all facility-based after-school and career exploration programming at horizon and crossroads youth detention centers. Cca's youth advocacy program provides nyc youth with alternatives to incarceration. Youth also have access to mentoring and the youth pathways program which offers work readiness and paid internship opportunities in fields such as music, fashion and culinary arts. In syracuse, cca's transition advocate programs provide services within the city of syracuse school district designed to keep youth in school as well as to help out-of-school youth return to school. Cca also provides after-school programming for high school students in syracuse as well as violence prevention education and peer educator training to middle and high school-aged students. 2024 approx. Number of individuals service was provided for: youth services: 1,309.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 80% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.1%; rating input score 96; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.4%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.77; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.73; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.3%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.4% of revenue deployed · 85.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 49 of 51 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $16.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $273K · 64 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 16/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.