Solutions for Change Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

With increased emphasis on its workforce development, child welfare interventions and adult empowerment programs, Solutions for Change continued its decades long promise to operate its residential family recovery programs drugfree and accountability based. Due to an aggressive multibillion dollar expansion of the dependency-making Housing First approach, a systemwide set of policies that enable the once homeless to use illicit drugs, remain unemployed and refuse services while living in public funded housing, Solutions is now one of the last remaining homeless housing and service orgs that deliver results that end dependency. The decision to stand firm on its core values to solve the root causes of family homelessness resulted in the nonprofit making the decision to voluntarily return over $83 million in hard fought family housing resources. The decision was made after years of legal wrangling when it became evident that no federal, state, or local resources would help protect homeless parents and their children from the explosion of an enabled drug culture riddled with overdose, deaths and criminal impacts, all of which pointed back to Housing First. Although those losses greatly impacted the people and programs of Solutions for Change, the organization recommitted to a multiyear repurposing effort, free of government funding, that began in earnest in 2022. Called We Are One Us, the effort involves over 100 Solutions for Change graduates, called Overcomers, who have rallied around the nonprofit to advance its mission and vision of solving the root causes of family homelessness. With the Overcomers leading the way the question they are asking is: What if the answer to the homeless problem is staring us all in the face? What if the solution is the homeless themselves, engaged in a purposeful way and equipped and inspired into jobs that end dependency for others like them, through initiatives like what Solutions for Change builds and implements?

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 80.8%; rating input score 81
• Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
• Fundraising efficiency: $16.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd 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: 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: 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: -7.5%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.97; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.7; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings