Hope Center Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
473874040
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7733712345
Rating
91
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Emergency Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,280,822
Expenses
$1,603,671
Assets
$5,496,396
Liabilities
$4,886,304

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Cheryle Jackson (Vice President)
  • James T Meeks (President/CEO)
  • Shenita Muse (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Shenita Muse (Executive Director): $144,934 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The organization works to address the root causes contributing to poverty and violence in the community through imaginative, solution-focused programs that provide support in the areas of home ownership, financial literacy, workforce development, youth mentorship, and entrepreneurship.

What it reported doing in 2024

R.E.A.D.Y. (Recruit, Employ, Advance & Develop Youth) - To Work is a twenty-week job readiness program designed for low-income youth ages 16-24. The goal of the R.E.A.D.Y. To Work program is to provide exposure and to prepare participants for the workforce by providing career training. Using creative methods, the Hope Center Foundation will recruit, employ, and develop youth by guiding them to become better citizens through active involvement in the workforce.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 78% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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 liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5,440.21 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 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: -25.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.43; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.89; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 34.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 57.8% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.4% of revenue deployed · 79.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $145K · 7 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $414K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • 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: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.