Community Living Alliance Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391889252
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6082428335
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,635,693
Expenses
$8,632,415
Assets
$5,588,911
Liabilities
$698,308

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TODD COSTELLO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JOHN GARDNER (PRESIDENT & TREASURER)
  • TERRI DEIST (VICE PRESIDENT & SECRETARY)

Highest reported compensation

  • TODD COSTELLO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $214,206 total reported compensation
  • CATHERINE PUTNAM (DIRECTOR - FINANCE): $143,529 total reported compensation
  • PATTI JO BECKER (DIRECTOR - PROGRAMS): $128,994 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Community living alliance (cla) is a not-for-profit organization, dedicated to empowering people with disabilities or chronic illnesses and the elderly to live independently and with dignity. Cla partners with these individuals to acquire personal care and support services needed to promote their quality of life and self-determination.

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization assists individuals with disabilities, chronic diseases, and the elderly to live independently with dignity in the community. Cla also provides a medical assistance personal care nursing program where employed nurses oversee the cares provided to consumers with developmental disabilities who reside in adult family homes, and the training of the workers who perform the personal cares in those adult family homes, dane county supported living programs (sl) - 300+ members served, medicaid assistance personal care program (care solutions) - 130+ members served, managed care (care solutions) - 80+ members served. Cla also provides supportive case management and behavior health therapy services (community wellness) - 70+ members served.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 available resources goes toward mission work. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.4%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.65; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.1%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -6.8% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.4% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $214K · 10 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.
  • 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.