PHMC West (Formerly Research for Better Schools Inc)

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
236411869
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2159852500
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,470,146
Expenses
$25,574,137
Assets
$66,979,559
Liabilities
$101,672,431

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICHARD COHEN (PRESIDENT & SECRETARY)

Highest reported compensation

  • RICHARD COHEN (PRESIDENT & SECRETARY): $1,184,270 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL PEARSON (CHAIRPERSON): $974,587 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT BLOCK (TREASURER): $734,188 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Phmc west is a charitable nonstock membership corporation organized to undertake activities related to public health campus on cedar avenue in philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

What it reported doing in 2024

Phmc west formerly research for better schools, inc. Is a charitable nonstock membership corporation organized to undertake activities related to public health campus on cedar avenue in philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This location is an innovative public health campus whose mission is to provide community-informed, integrated care and social services to support individuals and families. The campus' services will include phmc health center on cedar, one of six federally qualified heath centers providing services to the west and southwest philadelphia communities as well as an emergency department and onsite inpatient and behavioral health services available through penn medicine. Additional programs and services are planned from public health management corporation ("phmc") and other partners in the future. Phmc, the sole member of phmc west, will provide all the program services related to the phmc health center on cedar and will lease a portion of the campus from phmc west for use in providing these program services. The other programs will be operated and leased by other not-for-profit organizations. As of june 30, 2021, penn medicine is the only tenant.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 67% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 47
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 95.3%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 40%; rating input score 40; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -295.3%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.62; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.52; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.3%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 28.3% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 95.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $24.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.2M · 5 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 25 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 40/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.