Community Sustainability Enterprise Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
473565827
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lawrenceville, GA, USA
Phone
7573424096
Rating
58
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$92,630
Expenses
$88,064
Assets
$25,899
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEIRDRA COX (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEIRDRA COX (Executive Director): $35,538 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 Sustainability Enterprise (CSE) continued to advance its mission of transforming families, businesses, and neighborhoods into thriving, financially sustainable communities through innovative and community-anchored economic mobility programming. In 2024, CSE implemented a portfolio of impactful initiatives designed to build financial capability, promote homeownership, support youth workforce readiness, and improve the economic stability of underserved communities across the Greater Atlanta region. Population Served Across all 2024 programming, CSE served a population that was approximately 80% low- and moderate-income, with an ethnic composition of 54% Hispanic, 45% African American, and 1% Asian. Our programs remain committed to closing opportunity gaps and driving community-level financial transformation.

What it reported doing in 2024

Financial Wellness for Minority Small Business Owners In 2024, CSE expanded its service reach to minority small business owners through a partnership with Bank OZK, launching a financial wellness initiative designed to address the personal financial health of entrepreneurs-an essential component for long-term business sustainability. The program served over 40 small business owners, helping them understand the link between personal financial fitness and scalable business growth. Workshops included topics such as personal credit, debt management, emergency savings, and business-owner tax readiness. CSE also formed a strategic alliance with the local faith-based community, integrating its financial wellness curriculum into business-focused ministries and small group networks. These sessions created culturally relevant and trusted entry points for underserved entrepreneurs to access training, resources, and coaching.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 62% 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

MIXED - 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: 24
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 24%; rating input score 24
  • Program expense ratio: 25.3%; rating input score 25
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 13th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 4.9%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 40.4%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 24% of revenue deployed · 25.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $22K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $36K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2016 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 24/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.