CHN Housing Partners

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341346763
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone
216-574-7100
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Housing Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$57,282,070
Expenses
$55,411,601
Assets
$85,088,307
Liabilities
$51,998,183

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEVIN J NOWAK (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
  • ANDREW BAILEY (VICE PRESIDENT/REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT)
  • JASON HEADEN (VICE PRESIDENT/DETROIT MAR)
  • KATE CARDEN (VICE PRESIDENT/PROGRAMS)
  • ROCHELLE ENSLEY (VICE PRESIDENT/PROPERTY MANAGEMENT)
  • ROBIN HOLMES (VICE PRESIDENT/CONSTRUCTION)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEVIN J NOWAK (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $291,425 total reported compensation
  • MARY SMIGELSKI (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $236,933 total reported compensation
  • JANET REED-JAMES (CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCE OFFIC): $234,428 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

CHN’s mission is to leverage the power of affordable, stable housing to change lives and improve communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Energy conservation & weatherization: through decades-long partnerships with utility companies and public agencies, chn has become one of northeast Ohio's largest energy conservation and weatherization providers. Currently, we provide nearly $20 million in energy-efficient products and services annually (including weatherization and electric, water, and sewer conservation) to help make homes safer and more affordable. Reducing the cost of utilities and, by extension, the consumption of energy and the resulting carbon footprint of thousands of lmi residents each year, is a high priority and long- term strategic focus of chn. To move the needle in this area, chn completes thousands of energy conservation jobs for low- to moderate-income (lmi) households annually. This includes the removal and replacement of hvac to increase energy efficiency and to both reduce the volume of particulates in and improve the quality of the air in people's homes. The work also includes home insulation and other weatherization measures such as weather stripping, caulk, air sealing, and energy conservation measures including light bulb instillation, meter of refrigerator and/or freezer, replacement of high use refrigerator and/or freezer and client education. In 2024, chn completed 3,637 jobs in a 22-county area.

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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 89.4%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $40.83 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 77th 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: 3.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.54; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.61; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 10 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 86.2% of revenue deployed · 89.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $49.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $291K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.6M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 58 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.

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

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.