Institute for Community Empowerment

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363788073
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2022
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7735457288
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Citizen Participation

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$320,320
Expenses
$513,884
Assets
$50,455
Liabilities
$9,763

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT T GANNETT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • PATRICIA VADER (CHAIRPERSON)
  • ROBERT T GANNETT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • VERNON VADER (DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The institute is a community organizing and leadership training institute that empowers chicago residents to take the initiative and develop the trust and teamwork to meet their communities' most pressing challenges.

What it reported doing in 2024

Expanded mental health services programsthroughout the year, the institute assisted the coalition to save our mental health centers by leading a fundraising campaign to support to support its mission to create affordable, high-quality mental health services for all chicago residents. Its intern teams and staff helped residents create a new expanded mental health services program in 2024 in the englewood-greater chatham area, while its director provided consultation each month to the governing commission of the expanded mental health services program in bronzeville at its regular commission meetings. Affordable homeownership developmentworking with the lugenia burns hope center, the institute continued to explore options for housing bronzeville to build its first phase of new affordable homes on thirteen city-owned vacant lots in the bronzeville. Citizens now programthe institute provided afterschool classes at william penn elementary school and oscar depriest elementary school on chicago's west side through its 12-week citizens now program for 5th-8th graders. Students learned the skills of citizenship in a democracy by conversing with each other twice a week on issues of importance to their lives, their city, and their country.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 70% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 97
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 14
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 94%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $197.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -60.4%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.1; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -10.4% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 94% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $483K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.