Greater West Town Community Development Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363657734
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3124329595
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,133,501
Expenses
$7,683,816
Assets
$11,615,623
Liabilities
$1,713,793

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KEITH MUHAMMAD (PRESIDENT)
  • KEISHA DAVIS-JOHNSON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • KEISHA DAVIS-JOHNSON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $243,876 total reported compensation
  • STEPHANIE DOUGLASS (CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER): $175,765 total reported compensation
  • KIMBERLY HANSEL (CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER): $174,249 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Greater west town development project's mission is to build a community based response that expands educational and economic opportunities for chicago's low-income community residents in the humboldt park, east garfield park, west garfield park, austin, and north lawndale community areas. We achieve this mission by providing comprehensive workforce development and educational services to our community, supplemented by rigorous research, advocacy efforts and policy initiatives that link the employment and training of the neighborhood workforce with other key local economic development efforts.

What it reported doing in 2024

Employment training - vocational training & career pathways: greater west town community development project (gwtp) operates workforce development, employment training, and career preparation services in partnership with local industry and employer partners serving high school non-completers, opportunity youth, single parents, low-income and unemployed individuals, individuals with limited english proficiency, returning citizens, and those experiencing homelessness. Gwtp offers two career training programs in high-growth fields - woodworking & solid surface manufacturing and shipping & receiving. These program are approved by the Illinois board of higher education and accredited by the accrediting commission of career schools and colleges and integrate technical skills training, basic skills support, and 12 months of post-program assistance, including job readiness and placement services. Through gwtp's career pathways program, gwtp delivers job readiness training to prepare youth and adult participants for employment or post secondary education. Gwtp provides career services and college counseling, including case management, individualized education and employment planning, job readiness training, college exploration, and job placement and follow-up services for youth and adults.

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 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 89.3%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $163.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th 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: 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.5%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.51; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.5%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.5% of revenue deployed · 89.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $6.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $244K · 13 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $138K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.