Employment Connection

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431106386
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
St Louis, MO, USA
Phone
3143335637
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,063,465
Expenses
$6,282,162
Assets
$7,034,000
Liabilities
$288,646

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICHARD E BUCKLEY (PRESIDENT)
  • BRIAN DAVIES (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • BRENDA MAHR (RETIRED CEO)
  • SAL MARTINEZ (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SAL MARTINEZ (CEO): $231,461 total reported compensation
  • DAVID KESSEL (COO & EVP): $195,250 total reported compensation
  • NORA DAVIS (CFO): $150,288 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Employment connection is a nonprofit st. Louis community asset whose mission is "to assist individuals with limited opportunities to self sufficiency" including those recovering from substance abuse, the homeless, low-income individuals and (continued on schedule o) families, at-risk youth, u.s., veterans, new americans, and non-custodial fathers.

What it reported doing in 2024

The competitive employment program (cep) works to reduce crime and homelessness by assisting individuals with significant barriers into employment, leading to a career. Individuals in cep participate in the world of work job readiness training and are then connected with a career specialist with which they create a personalized plan which addresses each of their barriers to self-sufficiency. Additional services available to eligible cep participants include behavioral and physical health services, housing and transportation assistance, work-related clothing, educational assistance, and more. During 2024, employment connection continued solar panel installation training and also green jobs employment training. 551 were successfully placed into employment at an average hourly wage of (see continuation on sch o) $15.30, and 41% maintained their employment for a minimum of 90 days. As part of case management, employment connection provided 367 hours of behavioral health intakes and counseling. In addition, employment connection provided 620 instances of direct financial assistance totaling over $721,000 in 2024. Housing services included rental and utility assistance for individuals and their families who were homeless, and/or at-risk of homelessness in st. Louis city and county. Many of these individuals were disabled and/or financially impacted by covid-19. Through employment connection's docy program, 95 youth 10-17 year olds in the dutchtown, gravois park, and mount pleasant neighborhoods received services. Over 200 youth were engaged in events attended or hosted by the docy program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 80% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.4%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 63rd 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: -3.6%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.12; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.4% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $231K · 18 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $208K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.