Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203525591
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Columbus, OH, USA
Phone
6142525362
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Financial Counseling

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,248,611
Expenses
$8,639,924
Assets
$2,659,059
Liabilities
$683,850

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SELESHI AYALEW (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SELESHI AYALEW (CEO): $178,853 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To be the focal point of societal integration for immigrants, refugees, and low-income individuals to help improve the quality of life through education, training, supportive services, and self-development opportunities while increasing awareness of the diverse cultures and heritage.

What it reported doing in 2025

Engage local youth in programming to help them succeed in school and as adults. Total number of students served is 822; total number of out-of-school time students 1557; pathways to success students 151; and 145 families; 15th annual youth summit with over 500 students; family school and community engagement- columbus city schools 2805 families, pickerington 654 families, reynoldsburg 400 families, whitehall city schools 532 families.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 90% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.5%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 87.3%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $36.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 6.6%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.3% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.5% of revenue deployed · 87.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $179K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.