Connecticut Institute For Communities, Inc.

Legal name: Connecticut Institute for Communities Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
912187143
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Danbury, CT, USA
Phone
Mon-Fri: 9:00am-5:00pm
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$41,390,324
Expenses
$42,432,090
Assets
$30,184,518
Liabilities
$12,112,216

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHERINE CURRAN Esq (CEO & President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Diana Paez (Physician): $349,713 total reported compensation
  • ASHA MARHATTA (PHYSICIAN): $336,515 total reported compensation
  • jennifer cohen (PHYSICIAN): $313,162 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

CIFC exists to serve and strengthen our communities through education, housing, wellness, and health care.

What it reported doing in 2024

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION - Early Childhood Education includes the Head Start, Early Head Start, Care4Kids and School Readiness programs which are operated partially in collaboration with the Cities of Danbury and Norwalk. Major funding is through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), State of Connecticut Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Connecticut State Department of Education (SDE). CIFC provides Head Start preschool and infant/toddler child development services to low and moderate income Northern Fairfield County and Greater Norwalk residents. In addition, CIFC serves special needs children referred by other local and state agencies. Early Childhood Education also includes the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) program for all Head Start and School Readiness Program enrollees, funded through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the State of Connecticut Department of Education.

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 92% 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: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.1%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 90.8%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $371.44 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: -2.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.4; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 93.1% of revenue deployed · 90.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $38.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $350K · 21 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.