Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
310807186
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Blue Ash, OH, USA
Phone
(513) 721-1025
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Senior Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$140,354,314
Expenses
$140,053,945
Assets
$33,898,077
Liabilities
$14,418,052

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Suzanne Burke (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Suzanne Burke (CEO): $508,883 total reported compensation
  • Ken Wilson (VP Program Ops): $250,754 total reported compensation
  • Terri Bunting (VP of Managed Care): $239,051 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To help older adults, people with disabilities, and their families navigate the complexities of aging and find the support they need to live with dignity and independence.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community-based and Senior Center Services: These include a range of services designed to help older adults remain healthy, active and connected to their communities. Additional services provide legal assistance to low-income older adults and protect the rights of those receiving long-term care services in nursing homes and other settings. Services are provided by senior centers and other community organizations that have contracts with Council on Aging. One of the most important services in this category is transportation. In FFY 2025, COA provided 185,404 trips for individuals within our five-county region. Most trips are for medical appointments, but transportation for shopping, other errands and recreation is also provided. Funding for transportation falls far short of community need. Meals are another important service in this category. More than 13,400 individuals received approximately 1.8 million meals in congregate settings or delivered to their homes. An additional 3,434 low-income older adults were served through the USDA Senior Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, receiving $50 in coupons to redeem for fresh fruits and vegetables at area participating farmers' markets. Additional community-based services in FFY 2025 included caregiver support and wellness programs for 4,299 individuals (including people caring for individuals with Alzheimer's); legal assistance for 2,413 older adults; ombudsman representation for 10,759 individuals in nursing homes and receiving in-home care; and supportive services for 739 individuals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 84% 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.

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: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.3%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 90.3%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16,559.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 0.2%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.24; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.7%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 10 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 90.3% of revenue deployed · 90.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $126.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $509K · 32 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $8.5M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 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: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.