Creative Living Inc.
Creative Living Inc.
150 W 10TH AVENUE
Columbus OH 43201-2093
Columbus OH | IRS ruling year: 1971 | EIN: 23-7159623
RENTAL HOUSING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES.
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150 W 10TH AVENUE
Columbus OH 43201-2093
Columbus OH | IRS ruling year: 1971 | EIN: 23-7159623
RENTAL HOUSING FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES.
Great
This charity's score is 96%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores: 80% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 10% Culture & Community. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.
We recognize that not all metrics and beacons equally predict a charity’s success. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organization’s overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned.
Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Accountability & Finance score for Creative Living Inc. is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
Creative Living Inc. has earned a 97% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
This Accountability & Finance score represents IRS Form 990 data up until FY 2020, which is the most recent Form 990 currently available to us.
Learn more
Charity Navigator looks for at least 3 board members, with more than 50% of those members identified as independent (not salaried).
The presence of an independent governing body is strongly recommended by many industry professionals to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters.
Source: IRS Form 990
An Audit, Review, or Compilation provides important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Organizations are scored based on their Total Revenue Amount:
Total Revenue Amount | Expectation to Receive Credit |
---|---|
$1 million or higher | Expected to complete an audit |
$500,000 - $1 million | Expected to complete an audit, review, or compilation |
Less than $500,000 | No expectation (removed from scoring methodology) |
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.
An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for a website on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.
Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.
Source: IRS Form 990
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and/or long-term sustainability.
Liabilities to Assets Ratio | Amount of Credit Received |
---|---|
Less than 50% | Full Credit |
50% - 59.9% | Partial Credit |
60% or more | No Credit |
Source: IRS Form 990
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.
Program Expense Percentage | Amount of Credit Received |
---|---|
70% or higher | Full Credit |
60% - 69.9% | Partial Credit |
50% - 59.9% | Zero Points for Program Expense Score |
Below 50% | Zero Points for Both Program Expense AND Liabilities to Assets Scores |
Source: IRS Form 990
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
No Data Available
Key Persons data is currently unavailable for this organization. This data is only available if this charity has at least one year of electronically-filed Form 990 data filed within the last six years.
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Aid to the handicapped (see also 031) (BMF activity code: 160)
Foundation Status:
Organization that normally receives no more than one-third of its support from gross investment income and unrelated business income and at the same time more than one-third of its support from contributions, fees, and gross receipts related to exempt purposes. 509(a)(2) (BMF foundation code: 16)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Creative Living Inc.) or EIN (237159623) in the 'Search Term' field.
This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. This normally would have reduced their star rating. Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Creative Living Inc. reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we were forced to cancel five of our signature fundraising events between March 2020 and November 2021. The proceeds from these annual events help to fund our Resident Assistance Program that provides 24/7, on-call, non-medical assistance to our 34, physically disabled residents at two communities.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
We continued to operate our core programs, affordable housing and the 24/7 Resident Assistance Program, without interruption during the pandemic. We did, however, have to suspend social and volunteer programming at our communities in the interest of the residents' health and safety and that of our staff and volunteers.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
Due to the compromised nature of our residents' immune systems, we put our lobbies on lockdown, canceled all social and volunteer programming and limited access to essential personnel only. In addition, we educated our residents on COVID safety protocols and provided them with free PPE and supplies on multiple occasions.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
We continue to seek opportunities outside of in-person events to fund our 24/7 Resident Assistance program, the core service that allows our residents to live independently despite their physical disabilities.
Not Currently Scored
Creative Living Inc. cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
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Creative Living Inc. reported its two largest programs on its FY 2020 Form 990 as:
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
APARTMENT RENTAL FOR PERSONS WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES.
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
RESIDENT ASSISTANT PROGRAM 20 TO 25 RESIDENT ASSISTANTS PROVIDE "ASSISTED" INDEPENDENT LIVING SERVICES TO PHYSICALLY DISABLED PERSONS RESIDING IN OUR SPECIALLY BUILT FACILITIES.
Creative Living Inc. has earned a 85% for the Culture & Community beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves.
Learn more
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. However, it did not respond to one or more survey questions, and therefore is not eligible for a score on this metric. (View our beacon methodology.) Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
Who are the people you serve with your mission? Describe briefly.
Adults with physical disabilities who desire to live independently
How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Paper surveys, Community meetings or town halls, Suggestion box/email
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
With whom does your organization share the feedback you got from the people you serve?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders
What challenges does your organization face in collecting feedback from the people you serve?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, We don't have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently
Briefly describe a recent change that your organization made in response to feedback from the people you serve.
Note: The organization did not respond to this question.
100% of beacon score
This organization's score of 85 is a passing score. The organization reported that it is implementing 5 Equity Practices. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective equity policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
Equity Practices (3/7) | |
---|---|
We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race. | |
We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and/or portfolios. | |
We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization/'s programs, portfolios, and the populations served. | |
We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support. | |
We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders. | |
We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured | |
We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization. |
Equity Policies and Procedures (2/7) | |
---|---|
We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity. | |
We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions. | |
We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization. | |
We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board. | |
We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability. | |
We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team. | |
We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization. |
Creative Living Inc. has earned a 100% for the Leadership & Adaptability beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Learn more
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
We provide safe, affordable, wheelchair-accessible housing for adults with physical disabilities who desire to live independently, further their education, pursue careers and contribute to the community.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
We aspire to be the leading provider of affordable housing for adults with physical disabilities who want to live independently and pursue their life goals.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Increase our capacity to serve the physically disabled by adding additional rental units.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: Create an awareness of and education on disability issues while advocating for equity and inclusion in the community, workplace and beyond.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
Goal Three: Ensure our facilities exceed the required specifications for ADA accessibility.
Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
The executive director and president of the Board of Trustees engaged in a two-day training session offered by Leadership Columbus in March 2021 on the subject of non-profit board governance. In addition, the director of marketing & advancement attends multiple, web-based, non-profit forums throughout the year and will be a participant in Columbus' 2022 Fundraising Leadership Academy.
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Policy Advocacy
Our leadership team and many board members consistently seek opportunities to raise awareness of our mission among the local community. In the past year, we have forged relationships with The Ohio State University College of Nursing to provide programming for our residents; we joined the Franklin County Human Service Chamber to collectively influence and benefit from the health and human services sector; we enjoy a robust marketing and social and media presence, and more.
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
Much like 2020, last year was like no other in Creative Living history. Industry-wide challenges related to staffing, operations and fundraising provided us many opportunities to adapt and overcome. From a staffing perspective, we enhanced recruitment efforts, digitized our application for employment and employed additional tactics to raise awareness for open opportunities. Having canceled two of three fundraising events for a second year in a row, we enhanced our grant seeking efforts; we initiated new, crowdfunding and peer-to-peer fundraisers; and we found creative ways to continue engaging our donors.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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