Community Action Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
410970984
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Northfield, MN, USA
Phone
5076453550
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Neighborhood Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,363,362
Expenses
$4,703,464
Assets
$3,249,941
Liabilities
$353,839

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROD CHRISTENSEN (PRESIDENT)
  • RACHEL MATNEY (PRESIDENT (THRU 08/2024))
  • VIRGINIA LORANG (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SCOTT WOPATA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SCOTT WOPATA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $165,239 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Promote a healthy, caring, and just community for all people through resources, advocacy, and volunteer effort.

What it reported doing in 2024

Youth programs: cac is committed to ensuring that children and youth in rice county have the resources they need to thrive academically, physically, and socially. Operation backpack provides free backpacks and school supplies to pre-k through 12th grade students in the northfield school district each fall, coordinated in partnership with the operation backpack committee and distributed through a structured registration and appointment-based event. In faribault, cac partners with supply our children, faribault public schools, and the faribault area chamber of commerce through the school supplies for all initiative, which ensures that all faribault public schools students in need have supplies available in their classrooms at the start of each school year, a critical support given that nearly 70 percent of faribault students come from low-income households. Operation joy, cac's annual holiday gift distribution program, serves nearly 400 families each year and distributes gifts to more than 1,000 children. Cac also provides activity scholarships for income-eligible families, enabling children to participate in summer camps, sports, and enrichment activities that would otherwise be financially out of reach.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 53% for direct work, and 47% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.5%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2,442.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.8%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.69; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.5% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $165K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $234K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.