Community Action Lehigh Valley

Legal name: Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
231669589
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Bethlehem, PA, US
Phone
(610) 691-5620
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$43,606,694
Expenses
$45,464,375
Assets
$15,888,895
Liabilities
$4,282,125

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LOUIS CINQUINO (PRESIDENT)
  • ZACHARIAH COBRINIK (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • HILDA RIVERA (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • DAWN GODSHALL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JESSICA M REIMERT (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAWN GODSHALL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $206,392 total reported compensation
  • JESSICA M REIMERT (DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $140,259 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of Community Action Lehigh Valley is to improve the quality of life in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas by building communities in which all people have access to economic opportunity, the ability to pursue that opportunity, and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives.

What it reported doing in 2023

Housing counseling program43 families that utilized the housing counseling program were able to purchase their first home. Conducted seven first-time homebuyer seminars, providing 8 hours of hud-approved education. 214 prospective home buyers earned a certificate of completion by attending a seminar. 55 prospective homebuyers were provided pre-purchase counseling. 39 prospective homebuyers were provided pre-settlement counseling. 1 program participants utilized the home ownership savings account program, earned a $2,000 savings match, and purchased a home. 2 participants completed a 6-hour financial education course developed by the Pennsylvania housing finance agency. 4 participants utilized the bethlehem homebuyer assistance program to purchase their first home. Provided default and delinquency counseling to 42 financially distressed homeowners. Provided loss mitigation services to 6 delinquent homeowners. Assisted 15 delinquent homeowners in applying to the pa homeowner assistance fund. Assisted 37 homeowners in applying to the homeowners' emergency mortgage assistance program. Provided rental/financial counseling to 4 residents of the turner street transitional housing program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.6%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 88.8%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $48.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: -4.3%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.8%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 17 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 92.6% of revenue deployed · 88.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 8 filed program accomplishments · $40.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $206K · 34 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.