Central Eastside Together

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
883802186
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5032366830
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Coalitions

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,130,520
Expenses
$1,096,549
Assets
$2,442,852
Liabilities
$2,407,910

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

People named in this filing

  • MIKE LARKIN (Chairman)
  • BROOKE CABATIC (Secretary)
  • DEVIN REYNOLDS (EX OFFICIO)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To foster a safer, cleaner, and more vibrant Central Eastside, enhance the pedestrian experience, reinforce economic viability, and promote the districts unique identity through innovative and responsive programs and services.

What it reported doing in 2024

DISTRICT ENHANCEMENT: CET supports the vitality of the Central Eastside through a variety of programs and services, including mural commissions and preservation, district activations and events, grant programs and sponsorships, and installation and maintenance of district signage and wayfinding. CET also implements small business programs such as the Passport program and collaborates with city-wide initiatives to increase foot traffic and economic activity in the district.SAFETY AND COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS: CET provides a team of Community Ambassadors who operate seven days per week to support safety, hospitality, and outreach in the district. Ambassadors assist residents, visitors, and employees through chaperoned walks, presence patrols, and engagement with unhoused individuals, contributing to a safer and more welcoming district.CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE: CET manages district cleaning programs to remove litter, trash, and biohazards. In partnership with contracted cleaning crews, CET annually removes hundreds of thousands of pounds of waste from streets and public spaces, maintaining a cleaner and more attractive environment for the community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 96% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.2%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 51.8%; rating input score 52; 30th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.23; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.99; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -15.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 32.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.2% of revenue deployed · 81.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $895K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 52/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.