Choose Healthy Life

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
862604241
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
East Stroudsburg, PA, USA
Phone
5702168131
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Health Program (Includes General Health and Wellness Promotion Services)
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,753,672
Expenses
$5,632,230
Assets
$4,497,803
Liabilities
$671,879

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • REV KIMBERLY L WILLIAMS (PRESIDENT &)

Highest reported compensation

  • REV KIMBERLY L WILLIAMS (PRESIDENT &): $143,333 total reported compensation
  • YOLANDA MACK (PROGRAM DIRE): $113,290 total reported compensation
  • RON TICHO (CHIEF OPERAT): $109,203 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Choose healthy life (chl) is a non-profit organization focused on providing the black church the oldest and most trusted institution in the black community - with the necessary resources, training, and support to address health disparities in hard-to-reach communities through the delivery of health services and community wellness programs. Our proven, sustainable, and scalable model that brings together faith and science is based on the establishment of a trained faith-based health navigator in each chl church. We're at the forefront of shaping the health equity field to address social determinants of health, as well as a leader on the ground in providing healthcare services and hands-on action with vulnerable communities. We aren't just discussing the path towards health equity - we're paving it. Founded in 2021 during the height of the covid pandemic, choose healthy life funded 120 churches across 13 states that conducted over 3,700 events and vaccinated and tested over 110,000 indiv

What it reported doing in 2024

Choose healthy life (chl) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving health outcomes in underserved communities by working through the black church, one of the most trusted institutions in the community. Chl provides resources, training, and support to churches to expand access to health services, improve health literacy, and connect individuals to preventive care. Through a trained faith-based health navigator workforce embedded in local churches, chl conducts community outreach events that offer health education, risk screening, testing, vaccination support, and referrals to care. These activities are designed to reach individuals who may otherwise face barriers to accessing traditional healthcare services. During the year, chl supported churches in multiple states that deployed full-time health navigators to conduct community-based outreach and health access events. Since its founding in 2021, chl has hosted more than 11,000 outreach events, served over 350,000 individuals through testing and vaccination initiatives, and provided preventive health screenings to more than 35,000 individuals. In addition to direct community engagement, chl works to raise awareness of health disparities and inform policymakers and stakeholders about the need for equitable health policies that improve access to care, prevention services, and treatment options in historically underserved communities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 73% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 90.8%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd 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: -104.5%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.8; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 77.3% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.8% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $143K · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $469K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule G fundraiser detail did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.