Community for Youth

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521494505
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2063258480
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$622,568
Expenses
$628,441
Assets
$218,091
Liabilities
$5,340

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SARAH POPELKA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • MALI OLSON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SARAH POPELKA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $103,467 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Community for youth employs youth mentoring, community building, leadership development, and career exploration to help youth develop relationships that will support their lives, connect with their internal power, and help them make a successful transition beyond high school. Community for youth's unique approach to mentoring creates a sense of belonging in a safe and supported environment, promotes positive identity, and helps youth set goals.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community for youth is a youth mentoring program that offers opportunities for students to create a sense of community and belonging in a safe and supported environment. The program promotes positive identity, development of leadership and voice, setting goals, challenging oneself, development of social emotional skills, and civic engagement. Community for youth pairs students with caring adults who act as trusted advocates and opportunity brokers so students can set and achieve their goals, explore career options, and improve their community through service learning. Community for youth 's mentoring model joins one-on-one mentoring with small family groups of seven to eight student-mentor pairs, as well as learning communities of 40 pairs, for directed workshops that help students build confidence, determination, and self-awareness.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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

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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.8%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 55.2%; rating input score 55
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.9%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.8% of revenue deployed · 55.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $347K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $103K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 56/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.