Smaller Business Association of New England Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042029078
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Waltham, MA, USA
Phone
7818909070
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$787,499
Expenses
$1,245,538
Assets
$335,363
Liabilities
$683,616

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KARIM HILL (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KARIM HILL (PRESIDENT): $275,865 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To promote and protect the interests of small businesses. Sbane serves approximately 1000 member companies operating in various states whose businesses range from sole-proprietorship, service businesses, growing high technology firms, and manufacturing plants. Sbane's programs and services address the shared interests and the needs of its diverse membership.

What it reported doing in 2017

Promote & protect interests of small businesses

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 51% for direct work, and 49% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - Most voting board members are independent and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 41
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 6
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 54.2%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 34.3%; rating input score 34
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 91.3%; rating input score 91; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -58.2%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.27; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.04; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.1%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 54.2% of revenue deployed · 34.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $427K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $276K · 30 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2010 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 27 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.