Chinese Culture Connection Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043103223
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2013
Location
Malden, MA, USA
Phone
7813216316
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$837,164
Expenses
$707,977
Assets
$655,580
Liabilities
$121,803

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MEI HUNG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LINDA THORSEN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MEI HUNG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $89,250 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Chinese Culture Connection, Inc. empowers Chinese Immigrants and other Chinese-descended residents of greater Boston to appreciate and retain their Chinese heritage, develop bicultural fluency, and enrich other with a deeper understanding... (continued on Schedule O)

What it reported doing in 2024

Community programs: East Meets West Cultural Dialogue Series is designed to help immigrant adults to balance their cultural heritage and current American life, so they may be better parents to support their American-born children, while gaining confidence and becoming productive members of our society. Youth Leadership and Mentoring Program is part of the East meets West Cultural Dialogue Series. It aims to strengthen immigrant youths bi-cultural identity, develop their leadership skills, social responsibility, and empower their self-worth by helping others. CCC offers various Chinese cultural events and workshops to expose audiences of all backgrounds to a cross-cultural experience to enhance their cultural awareness, appreciation and enjoyment. Just to name a few: Introduction to Feng Shui; Chinese Tea Culture and Art; the Development of Chinese Characters and Calligraphy, Introduction to Chinese music, etc. (Continued on Schedule O)

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th 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: Limited
  • 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.4%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.93; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71% of revenue deployed · 83.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $593K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $89K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.