Search Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237058758
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7733055000
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$30,357,486
Expenses
$28,002,371
Assets
$33,230,831
Liabilities
$9,292,248

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GREG PETERSEN (PRESIDENT)
  • Cory Gumm (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • GREG PETERSEN (PRESIDENT): $248,291 total reported compensation
  • Cory Gumm (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $206,060 total reported compensation
  • Linda Coleman (ASSISTANT TREASURER): $146,292 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Search empowers people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to live, learn, work, and play as valued members of their communities. Search provides person-centered supports including supported living, adult learning, career services, behavioral health, and health and therapeutic care. Search also offers workshops that help individuals build skills to safely use public transportation, and provide community education through Disability Awareness Trainings. Each year, Search serves approximately 350 individuals and families across Chicago and the northern suburbs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Search Adult Learning Services provide individuals with a rich combination of curriculum and community based services designed to appeal to a broad range of interests. Curriculum topics include creative arts, health and wellness, personal development, sensory integration, work skills, internet literacy and skills for life. Community Life includes a variety of volunteer and community-based experiences in partnership with other local agencies. Other services include an immersive visual arts program, home-based service facilitation and behavioral health supports. Individuals can participate in programs on a full-time or part-time basis. Services are designed to meet the needs and preferences of individuals with a wide range of intellectual disabilities, from mild to profound.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 97% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.5%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.8%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.19; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.5% of revenue deployed · 88.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $24.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $248K · 21 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.