Cooperative Development Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043241596
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Northampton, MA, USA
Phone
4316651271
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,771,830
Expenses
$6,423,174
Assets
$3,381,190
Liabilities
$719,764

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAMELA ZAGORSKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALYSON FREDERICK (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $106,888 total reported compensation
  • PAMELA ZAGORSKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $105,394 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Develop and train cooperatives to create and sustain democratically owned, cooperative enterprises and networks in the northeast that grow a prosperous and equitable economy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Business ownership solutions (bos): since bos was founded in 2013, we have led 35 businesses through transitions to employee-owned cooperatives, creating ownership opportunities for more than 600 workers and helping them secure more than $36 million in capital to buy those businesses.in december 2025, cdi's bos program was awarded a $900,000 grant from jp morgan chase to head up a regional partnership that will expand services and awareness of exit planning for business owners and employee ownership through a Massachusetts-focused fellowship program and research initiative.across the u.s., a wave of aging baby boomer business owners are planning to retire in the next few years, but they do not have a plan and do not know who to turn to for help. This poses a great threat to business, job preservation, and growth in our communities. In new england and ny alone, an estimated 200,000+ small businesses have owners who are looking to retire or transition within the next few years, but only about 17% of them have a succession plan. Employee ownership is a proven strategy to preserve critical businesses and jobs and provide wealth building opportunities for workers. Cdi's bos program helps business owners and their employees execute conversions to employee ownership and provides public education to help businesses understand their options to avoid the loss of businesses and jobs.

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 99% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.3%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 85.6%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,012.36 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.1%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.3% of revenue deployed · 85.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $5.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $107K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.