Coalition for Economic Justice Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 223037457
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
- Location
- Buffalo, NY, USA
- Phone
- 7168925877
- Rating
- 64
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Coalitions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $612,865
- Expenses
- $252,409
- Assets
- $553,568
- Liabilities
- $4,576
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CHARMAINE BOWMAN (BOARD PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- HOLLY NOWAK (Executive Dir.): $66,630 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Cej unites labor, faith, and community organizations and activists with other movements allies to win campaigns that promote strong, sustainable communities and economic justice for all. Cej works towards our vision of a just economy by developing deep, strategic alliances.
What it reported doing in 2024
As part of our Buffalo Transit Riders Campaign, CEJ has advocated alongside transit riders for a more expansive, accessible, affordable public transportation system. This has included pushing for a capped fare on the new card system (once a person has paid what would equate the amount of a daily, weekly, or monthly pass they will no longer be charged), worked with the Transit Authority to change their drug test policy in accordance to new federal law that will make it easier to recruit new hires and safer for the public, advocated for equitable expansion of the rail system, and developed relationship with transit riders across the state to advocate for more funding for public transportation. As the organizational partner of the Buffalo Mutual Aid Network, CEJ has engaged in the coordination of mutual aid. This has included a Snow Brigade which helped to shovel out walkways for and by community members, the delivery of groceries and food pantry, and emergency response efforts.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 97% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 43
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 26.7%; rating input score 27
- Program expense ratio: 64.9%; rating input score 65
- Fundraising efficiency: $19.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 58.8%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.19; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 26.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 26.7% of revenue deployed · 64.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $164K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $67K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 23 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 27/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.