Chester County Community Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232773822
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
West Chester, PA, USA
Phone
6106968211
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,125,233
Expenses
$8,863,509
Assets
$136,202,115
Liabilities
$9,034,741

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KAREN SIMMONS (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KAREN SIMMONS (PRESIDENT/CEO): $251,085 total reported compensation
  • BOB FERGUSON (EXEC VP, BUSINESS AFFAIRS): $135,330 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The chester county community foundation connects people who care with the causes that matter, so their philanthropy makes a difference now and forever.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation has been established for the purpose of maintaining and improving the quality of life principally in chester county, Pennsylvania. The foundation collects and distributes funds to assist a wide range of community needs that include education, health and human services, the arts and sciences, community revitalization and the environment. Revenues are principally derived from individuals who have discretionary resources and are concerned with the future of the chester county region, nonprofit agency endowments and giving programs from major regional and national funders who are interested in investing in the chester county region. The foundation makes contributions to charitable organizations, maintains endowments, builds citizen leadership and develops financial resources to support issues that are important to chester county. It is the foundation's intent to invest in activities that will help the chester county community anticipate and avoid future problems as well as seek solutions to existing needs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 84% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 78% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 88
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.2%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 95.3%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $211.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 93%; rating input score 93; 22nd 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: 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: 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: 58%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 15.37; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.2% of revenue deployed · 95.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $251K · 21 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 172 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 164 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.