Contextos Nfp
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 273326532
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3128411324
- Rating
- 63
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- International Relief
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,861,702
- Expenses
- $1,794,663
- Assets
- $2,781,175
- Liabilities
- $10,157
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
People named in this filing
- ANTHONY BARASH (DIRECTOR)
- RICARDO CEVALLOS (DIRECTOR)
- LARRY FORD (DIRECTOR)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Contextos, an educational nonprofit established in 2010 in el salvador and the USA, increases access to quality instruction. We transform students' educational experience so they go beyond mechanical reading skills to develop true literacy that incorporates critical-analytical thinking, problem solving, curiosity and questioning. To do this, contextos creates libraries, provides community outreach and implements an innovative model of teacher training. We benefit all ages of students, ensuring they are better prepared to enter, thrive in, and ultimately complete secondary school.
What it reported doing in 2024
Through various initiatives, contextos increases access to quality education instruction and provides students with an educational experience that develops critical analytical thinking, problem solving, curiosity, and questioning. These initiatives include, but are not limited to: (1) soy autor initiative - students learn to read as writers do, and publish their own books and digital memoirs. The purpose is to increase writing abilities and increase interest in reading and writing. (2) soy lector initiative - we inspire and coach teachers to incorporate reading and writing strategies that encourage dialogue, critical thinking, and expression in their classrooms. (3) the chicago initiative - inmates and other at risk youth in chicago learn to publish their stories in an effort to interrupt the cycle of violence in the city.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this nonprofit funds its work.
- 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 - Most voting board members are independent and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 50
- Accountability: 76
- Sustainability: 81
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 46.4%; rating input score 46
- Program expense ratio: 99.9%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 53.5%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.55; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 23.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 46.4% of revenue deployed · 99.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 13 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes foreign activity
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 46/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.