Mon Valley Initiative
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 251591350
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Homestead, PA, USA
- Phone
- 4124644000
- Rating
- 91
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community, Neighborhood Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,420,162
- Expenses
- $4,358,814
- Assets
- $22,235,310
- Liabilities
- $1,345,198
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LAURA ZINSKI (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- LAURA ZINSKI (CEO): $126,539 total reported compensation
- APRIL HOOVER (CFO): $95,276 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Mon valley initiative is a regional community development coporation representing communities and stakeholders along the monogahela river and its tributaries in three southwestern Pennsylvania counties. Mvi is organized into three program areas, to best carry out its mission of "mon valley initiative strengthens the mon valley region by responsibly investing in our people and places". The three program areas are real estate and community development, housing counseling and workforce development and financial coaching.
What it reported doing in 2025
Workforce development and financial coaching: the purpose of mvi's workforce development and financial coaching program is to increase the income levels and financial self-sufficiency of local residents through effective career development services and financial coaching, assisting the unemployed and under-employed to advance. In addition to the assistance provided to participants, the team works with local employers to understand their human resource needs. Mvi provides direct services to participants through basic career counseling, financial coaching, classroom work, seminars, and pre- and post-employment case management. Mvi also works with mon valley employers to identify skill requirements and employment opportunities, and to make connections on behalf of mvi's participants. In addition to direct recruitment and job fairs, employers volunteer presenting in career exploration workshops and doing practice interviews with participants. In 2025, mvi served 373 participants. "served" is defined as meeting a program milestone: enrolled, completed the program, obtained employment, or maintained employment for at least six months. During the year, 231 participants enrolled in mvi's career development planning process, 50% of which gained employment. During the year, 43 unique employers hired mvi participants. Of those served, 97% continued with mvi's one-on-one financial coaching program.
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 87% 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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 96
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 93.6%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: $72.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 85; 85th 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; 75th 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: -27.4%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.1; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 93.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $127K · 13 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $697K reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 16 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.