Community Bonds Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812912950
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020, Form 990-EZ 2016
Location
New Haven, CT, USA
Phone
2033401116
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,917,749
Expenses
$947,413
Assets
$2,166,899
Liabilities
$284,597

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRETT DAVIDSON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANA MARIA RIVERA- FORASTIERI (SECRETARY): $82,308 total reported compensation
  • BRETT DAVIDSON (PRESIDENT): $71,361 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To reduce harms caused by the prison system while building grassroots power among those most impacted by criminalization, homelessness, and deportation.

What it reported doing in 2020

Sisters united: promotes healing and empowerment for women who are impacted by racial, economic, and gender based oppression. The program provides a weekly support group for women as well as access to educational opportunities, social services, and health resources. The program also facilitates advocacy opportunities for women.prison support hotline. This was a volunteer-powered program that was designed to (1) keep track of changing conditions inside ct prisons and jails during covid, and, most importantly, (2) facilitate direct support to incarcerated callers. This support would take the form of facilitating communication between callers and attorneys, connecting callers' families to our participatory defense program, organizing bail-outs, and more.radio newsletter. This program, which involves a monthly radio segment, is designed to provide a platform for the self-advocacy of incarcerated people as a tool for public education and community empowerment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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 a large share of total spending goes to programs. 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: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 43.1%; rating input score 43
  • Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $45.65 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 17th 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: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 50.6%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.29; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.2%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 77.2% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 62% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 62.5% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 43.1% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $826K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $82K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2017 to 2020
  • 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.

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 43/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.