Center for Urban Theological Studies

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232077194
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2153295400
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Humanities Organizations
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,343,130
Expenses
$1,780,470
Assets
$141,284
Liabilities
$460,517

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICHARDSON WILBERT (PRESIDENT (NON-VOTING MEMB)
  • KEVIN AIKEN (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RICHARDSON WILBERT (PRESIDENT (NON-VOTING MEMB): $122,055 total reported compensation
  • KEVIN AIKEN (VICE PRESIDENT): $85,708 total reported compensation
  • JONES SHERRY (ACADEMIC DEAN): $80,804 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the center for urban theological studies is to train servant leaders for transformational ministry in diverse urban settings for the kingdom of christ.

What it reported doing in 2014

Education

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 97% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 5
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 69.5%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 2; 2nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -32.6%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.08; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 3.26; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.2%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.5% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92% of revenue deployed · 69.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $122K · 13 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $230K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2009 to 2014
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.