Clean Energy Jobs and Justice Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
933203418
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
8157039330
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Energy Resources Conservation and Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,148,718
Expenses
$1,134,900
Assets
$2,154,128
Liabilities
$1,224,102

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • REBECCAH SANDERS (EXECUTIVE DI): $234,613 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The clean energy jobs and justice funds (cejjf) mission is to advance a fair and inclusive transition to clean energy across Illinois by expanding access to capital for clean energy businesses that face barriers to traditional financing, facilitating frontline communities access to clean energy, and lowering utility costs for residents and businesses.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organizations primary activities involve providing innovative financing opportunities and grants to remove capital barriers and fulfill its mission of ensuring equitable distribution of the benefits of the clean energy economy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

SUPPORTED - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.9%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 77.5%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $40.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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; 64th 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: NotApplicable
    • 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: 1.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.9; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.57; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.7%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 169.2% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.4% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 73.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.9% of revenue deployed · 77.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $879K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $235K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $990K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.