Cleveland Chesed Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
611773183
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Cleveland Heights, OH, USA
Phone
2169323115
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Food Banks, Pantries

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$400,559
Expenses
$699,109
Assets
$339,950
Liabilities
$10,953

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

Leadership & pay

77 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Susan Bichsel (President and Chief Executive Officer)
  • Barbara Cameron (Vice President and CFO)
  • Mark Hogan (Vice President and Chief Information Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Susan Bichsel (President and Chief Executive Officer): $372,101 total reported compensation
  • Barbara Cameron (Vice President and CFO): $237,762 total reported compensation
  • Russ Klein (Chief Strategy Officer): $208,841 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Distribution of Kosher food and other household items to meet the basic needs of financially vulnerable families and provide referrals to social services and other assistance to such families in order to further their financial stability.

What it reported doing in 2024

Over the course of the fiscal year, the Chesed Center serviced 2904 unique individuals, who reside in 30 zip codes in five counties, whose incomes are below 200% of the FPIG Federal Poverty Guidelines. The clients are able to select from produce, proteins, shelf-stable food, cleaning products, personal care items, and other basic staples on a monthly basis. In addition, we run an annual school supply distribution each August where children are given new school supplies, backpacks and uniforms. We also partner with another agency to provide periodic distributions of clothing and shoe gift cards at no cost. Another program is our large Passover distribution, where 3500 individuals were provided with food necessary to celebrate the holiday with dignity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.9%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 98.5%; rating input score 99; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -74.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.1%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 67 of 68 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $685K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $372K · 77 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 6 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.