Starr Commonwealth

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381359593
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Albion, MI, USA
Phone
5176295591
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Children's, Youth Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,475,792
Expenses
$10,792,826
Assets
$91,546,134
Liabilities
$1,375,292

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH CAREY (PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • DEREK ALLEN (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFIC)
  • STACEY LEVIN (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS AND IMPACT)
  • GREG STRAND (VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVANCEMENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH CAREY (PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $359,579 total reported compensation
  • DEREK ALLEN (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFIC): $211,653 total reported compensation
  • CAE SOMA (CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER - PART YEAR): $211,033 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Starr commonwealth's mission is to lead with courage to create positive experiences so that all children, families, and communities flourish.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community-basedduring the 2024-2025 fiscal year, 402 unique clients were served through direct service programs: 259 clients in our starr behavioral health services outpatient and holistic services program, 107 youth in our student resilience & empowerment center, and 35 clients in our f.o.c.u.s. Forward program (54 clients/youth received services from more than one program). Starr's behavioral health program offers individual and family therapy, academic support, group therapy, school-based behavioral health services, trauma assessments and interventions, occupational therapy, and case management. Clients attended 4,139 appointments, of which 172 were occupational therapy evaluations or sessions. The average client age was 15 years (range: 2 to 73 years old). Our behavioral health program provided 3,236 in-person and 903 telehealth (phone or video) sessions. Of behavioral health clients surveyed during the 2024-2025 fiscal year (n = 68), 94% indicated they would recommend the program to a friend in need of similar help, 94% indicated they would come back to the program if they were to seek help again, and 92% indicated that overall, they were satisfied with the services they received. F.o.c.u.s. Forward is a community-based program for opportunity youth (individuals between the ages of 16 and 24). The program connects youth with locally established educational and skilled trades training, apprenticeships, and pathways to gainful employment and careers. From a sample of 34 opportunity youth, 100% agreed or strongly agreed that they would recommend f.o.c.u.s. Forward if a friend was in need of similar help, 100% reported they received the kind of services they wanted, and 94% agreed or strongly agreed that the services they received helped them to deal more effectively with their problems.

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 99% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 53%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 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: -27.3%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.48; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.4%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -12.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.4% of revenue deployed · 53% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $360K · 15 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.1M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.