CSA Fraternal Life
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 360971620
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
- Location
- Lombard, IL, USA
- Phone
- 6304720500
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $16,575,080
- Expenses
- $17,973,484
- Assets
- $94,376,425
- Liabilities
- $93,582,266
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- John Kielczewski (Director/President)
Highest reported compensation
- John Kielczewski (Director/President): $249,193 total reported compensation
- Julie Souza (Sales Manager): $148,723 total reported compensation
- Nick Kosmas (Secretary/Tresurer): $139,973 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
CSA Fraternal Life is a society that provides competitive insurance and retirement products to its members. With appreciation for our founding Czech and Slovak ancestors, our mission it to encourage and share a common bond through a social network that fosters community involvement promoting courtesy, compassion and professionalism.
What it reported doing in 2024
CSA provides benefits and services coverage for life insurance and annuity products. CSA is Americas oldest fraternal benefit society, and was established to help those in need. CSA was founded in 1854 on the principles of equality, harmony, and fraternity. CSA serves nearly 20,000 members spread throughout approximately 60 lodges in 21 states. Fraternal societies are defined by elements of purposes, harmony and community. We add value to our products and services through membership in a lodge system that encourages member benefits and programs focused on family values and community involvement.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 77% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Member-benefit provider. The nonprofit used 84% of its reported program spending for member benefits.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 68
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -8.4%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.25; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.99; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment
- Leadership: top reported pay $249K · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $163K reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 12 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.
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.