Community Empowerment Resources

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454204164
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Honolulu, HI, USA
Phone
8083832597
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,209,179
Expenses
$5,771,864
Assets
$1,546,691
Liabilities
$11,154

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALIMAN SEARS (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARY KRIEGER (COO): $178,059 total reported compensation
  • FAYEZ RUMI (CFO): $139,912 total reported compensation
  • ALIMAN SEARS (CEO): $139,135 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide help to persons with disabilities. Specifically its significant activities are: gain access to psychiatric and medication services; referral to a primary care physician for medical services; find a job, vocational services, and state and federal benefit programs; find housing both private and public; get access to probationary, legal and other justice-related services; monitor psychiatric and medical medications & medication management; referral to programs for treatment of substance abuse; regular face-to-face contact for the purpose of assessing or reassessing needs; crisis assessment and intervention, with a case manager available 24/7/365. Services are delivered to the mentally ill in their homes, work, the park, the beach, or other community settings.

What it reported doing in 2024

Cer serves mentally-ill persons in the state of Hawaii, and many of these are homeless, are addicted to substances, and have little or no other social support. On a 24-hour basis, cer helps with psychiatric crisis services, gaining access to ongoing psychiatric and medication services, referral to a primary care physician for medical services, finding a job, linking with state and federal benefit programs, finding housing both private and public, getting access to legal and other services, and monitoring psychiatric and medical medications. Cer has successfully helped approximately 700 patients per month.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 90% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 50
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.9%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 52.2%; rating input score 52
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.27; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.8% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.9% of revenue deployed · 52.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $273K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.