Westside Community Empowerment Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 923432585
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2022
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 7733701065
- Rating
- 64
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community, Neighborhood Development
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $301,855
- Expenses
- $295,336
- Assets
- $311,331
- Liabilities
- $303,580
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Paul C Sims (CEO)
People named in this filing
- Paul C Sims (CEO)
- Shirley A Underwood (CFO)
- Jewel J Martin-Smith (COO)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission is to improve the quality of life of westside residents through increased civic responsibility enhanced mental and physical well-being and advanced educational opportunities. And in doing so we will address behavioral health generational trauma and wealth-based obstacles to progress through the creation of opportunities that will create pathways to generational wealth.
What it reported doing in 2025
Through four PlayStreets events held in the West Garfield community the organization created safe engaging spaces for youth and families to gather play and build positive social connections. Each event served an estimated 200-350 community members resulting in a total reach of approximately 1,100 unduplicated individuals across all events accounting for repeat attendance. These events transformed neighborhood streets into safe havens for recreation and community engagement providing structured activities such as games music food distribution and interactive attractions including jump houses. As a result: Over 1,100 residents were engaged in safe supervised outdoor activities that promoted community cohesion and reduced idle time for youth. An estimated 65%-70% of attendees were youth increasing access to safe recreational spaces in an area with limited structured programming. 80% of participants reported feeling a stronger sense of community connection and neighborhood pride based on informal feedback and on-site engagement. 75% of families participated in multiple activities encouraging family bonding and positive social interaction. In addition to participation metrics PlayStreets events contributed to broader community safety and well-being by activating public spaces in a positive way. The presence of organized activities and community members helped deter negative behaviors and provided youth with safe alternatives during peak hours of risk. Overall the PlayStreets initiative demonstrated measurable success in fostering safe environments strengthening community relationships and increasing access to free family-centered recreational opportunities in the West Garfield neighborhood.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 100% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 67% for direct work, and 33% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. 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: 29
- Transparency & Controls: 93
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 32.7%; rating input score 33
- Program expense ratio: 33.4%; rating input score 33
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.2%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.05; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.98; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 45.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 125.1% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 198.4% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 32.7% of revenue deployed · 33.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $99K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes grants
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 33/100.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 33/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.