Community Resources for Justice

Legal name: Community Resources for Justice Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043461434
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Aug 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Boston, MA, United States
Phone
6174822520
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Rehabilitation Services for Offenders

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$94,704,646
Expenses
$92,440,256
Assets
$59,056,068
Liabilities
$20,681,091

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEBORAH O'BRIEN (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBORAH O'BRIEN (PRESIDENT & CEO): $487,654 total reported compensation
  • PETER GERONDEAU (VP & CFO): $295,050 total reported compensation
  • CARA HART (VP OF HR & CULTURE): $258,321 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

At Community Resources for Justice, our mission is to change lives and strengthen communities by advancing policy and delivering individualized services that promote safety, justice, and inclusion. The Boston office of RSM US LLP has not only provided outstanding nonprofit assurances services to CRJ, but has consistently provided generous, philantropic support to advance our mission. Their team of talented professionals are valued business partners for our organization. Read More Nonprofit Partners. Guided by excellence, creativity, and compassion, we support individual transitions, strengthen families, promote justice, and improve community safety. Support Us Support our mission by making a tax-deductible gift on our secure site.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community strategies-Massachusetts (csma) provides comprehensive community-based residential, vocational, and clinical services to adults with developmental disabilities in a supportive, therapeutic environment. Since its inception in 1993, csma has evolved into a specialized service provider with unique expertise in serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and psychiatric disorders, including those with past involvement in the criminal justice system. With an emphasis on utilizing positive behavioral supports (pbs), csma's goal is to provide these individuals with the greatest opportunity to live as independently as possible in the community.csma operates group homes (serving 170 individuals) and shared living arrangements (serving 55 individuals) in numerous communities. Presently, the program's primary funding source is the Massachusetts department of developmental services (dds). Funding is also provided by the department of mental health (dmh), Massachusetts rehabilitation commission (mrc), and ct department of mental health and addiction services (dmhas). Csma is successful when individuals build on their social and life skills, have greater opportunities for inclusion in the community, secure meaningful employment, and require less external structure. Csma provides a continuum of support, ranging from group programs with 24/7 supervision, through shared living with a home provider, to case management where an individual lives independently with minimal support.over the last few years, we have transitioned several individuals from group home programs into shared living homes. Csma has also continued to see an increase in the number of individuals who have obtained and successfully maintained competitive employment in the community, as well as individuals who have required less formal job coaching to be successful. The individuals we serve increasingly attend community college, formally study for their ged, take vocational classes, and attend religious study classes. Many more individuals have developed quality personal relationships with members of the community. This increased community involvement has been accompanied by a high level of demonstrated proactive social skills, community awareness, and safe behavior.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 94% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $777.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.4%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 85.8% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $80.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $488K · 29 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.1M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.