Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
030216837
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Burlington, VT, USA
Phone
8022877971
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$36,856,036
Expenses
$37,951,967
Assets
$17,233,851
Liabilities
$5,002,427

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JON CRYSTAL (BOARD VICE PRESIDENT)
  • NAKUMA PALCCZEWSKI (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • PAUL DRAGON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PAUL DRAGON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $178,219 total reported compensation
  • CAROL PAUL (DEPUTY PROGRAM DIRECTOR): $167,148 total reported compensation
  • MATT D'AGOSTINO (FISCAL DIRECTOR): $166,440 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o

What it reported doing in 2024

Over this past year cvoeo has continued to expand its food programs throughout the champlain valley through our feeding champlain valley program which is the largest food shelf and charitable food provider in the state. We secured funding to renovate burlington food shelf and community resource center, adding expanded space on the first floor and a second floor. Those renovations will be completed in early february 2026. The health roots collaborative is one of feeding champlain valley's programs providing cvoeo with the opportunity to connect with over one hundred local farmers to source food into our charitable food system. We also provide education on sustainable farming through workshops at schools and community centers. Feeding champlain valley continues with its food as medicine program, mobile outreach, solidifying its three food hubs it established in 2023 and providing consumer choice through its online food ordering application and its interpretation and translation service.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 86% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.
  • 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.6%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 89.6%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $151.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: Limited

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: -3%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.6% of revenue deployed · 89.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $34M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 19 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 20 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 13 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.