Inspiration Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363673980
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7738780981
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Homeless Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,460,759
Expenses
$5,301,488
Assets
$3,820,738
Liabilities
$445,615

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Shannon Stewart (Executive Director & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Shannon Stewart (Executive Director & CEO): $194,809 total reported compensation
  • Kimberly Davis (Chief Financial Officer): $168,853 total reported compensation
  • Nancy Phillips (Chief Program Officer): $138,480 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Inspiration Corporation's mission is to help people who are affected by homelessness and poverty, to improve their lives and increase self-sufficiency through the provision of social services, employment training and placement, and housing. Additionally, the Foodservice Training program, operated within Inspiration Corporation's restaurants, provides skill-specific job training and employment placement.5840 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, LLC provides affordable and permanent supportive housing to low-income families, including those experiencing homelessness, in Chicago.

What it reported doing in 2024

Inspiration Corporation's first program, Inspiration Cafe, serves hot, nutritious meals to our participants in an atmosphere of dignity and respect. Our cafe is open to our participants five days a week and operates like any other full-service restaurant in the city. More than just a place to eat, Inspiration Cafe is a refuge from the streets where participants can connect with fellow diners, volunteers, and staff, and form a supportive community. During times of COVID-19 dining restrictions, Inspiration Cafe transitioned to distributing daily to-go meals which included one hot meal and one cold meal each day.Homeless Outreach Services provides basic street outreach to those who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of experiencing homelessness in and around the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. Needs assessments are performed and resources provided related to mental health, benefits eligibility, housing, employment, medical care, and substance use with the ultimate goal of assisting clients in obtaining safe, suitable housing.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.8%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 24th 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: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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 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: 17.9%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.8% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $195K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.