City on A Hill Inc.
City on A Hill Inc.
2224 W KILBOURN AVE
Milwaukee WI 53233-1614
Milwaukee WI | IRS ruling year: 2001 | EIN: 39-2017873
CITY ON A HILL IS ON A MISSION TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.
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2224 W KILBOURN AVE
Milwaukee WI 53233-1614
Milwaukee WI | IRS ruling year: 2001 | EIN: 39-2017873
CITY ON A HILL IS ON A MISSION TO BREAK THE CYCLE OF POVERTY IN MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.
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This charity's score is 94%, 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: 85% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 5% 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 As a result, the Accountability & Finance score for City on A Hill Inc. is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations.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.
City on A Hill Inc. has earned a 93% 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 2019, 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.
Presented here are up to five of this organization's highest compensated employees. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses, and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2019
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:
Activity data not reported from the IRS
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 (City on A Hill Inc.) or EIN (392017873) 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.
City on A Hill Inc. reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Balance Sheet
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
We applied and received the PPP loan, which allowed us to keep staffing levels intact to meet programming demand during major pivots.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
We have a blended staffing protocol that allows staff flexibility to work remotely when the nature of their work allows for it or if it becomes necessary for safety considerations (e.g., symptoms or exposure to someone who is ill). Our facility remained mostly closed to the general public without appointments during the highs of the pandemic, yet our staff remained mostly on-site serving the needs of the community, as we're deemed an essential service organization.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
Early in the pandemic, we closed our offices to the general public, therefore no one except our staff can access our facility without an appointment or to attend safe, scheduled activities. Our Health Outreach and onsite youth programming onsite were halted for several months but came back online with various adjustments in late August 2020. We continued to monitor guidance from county and state officials to further inform adjustments to various programs to ensure the safety of staff and participants. Our nutritional services continued and have been adapted to ensure all meals provided are individually prepared and wrapped while keeping to social distance requirements if served onsite.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
All our modified activities could continue as they are planned for the next several months, or however long required. We will need to increase the staff support for the activity as a result of the extended impact of the pandemic, in order to support youth both on-site and virtually for an extended period. During the bulk of distance learning, we supported students from 11 different schools attending our on-site Remote Learning Center, plus students from 6 additional schools that our team is supporting through virtual educational achievement activities. Given distance learning will continue for most students for the remainder of the school year, we will need the staffing capacity to perform all activities in a hybrid setting successfully over an extended period. We are therefore recruiting to fill an additional Youth Center staff position that will allow us to continue to make necessary pivots in months ahead.
Not Currently Scored
City on A Hill 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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City on A Hill Inc. reported its three largest programs on its FY 2019 Form 990 as:
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Healthcare Services: City on a Hill, Inc. serves more than 1,000 low-income, medically underserved adults annually, including many who are homeless, elderly or disabled and provides health screenings, ... (More)
Healthcare Services: City on a Hill, Inc. serves more than 1,000 low-income, medically underserved adults annually, including many who are homeless, elderly or disabled and provides health screenings, doctor visits, medications, eye exams, glasses, physical and occupational therapy, foot care, cancer screenings, health education, nutrition, and other services. We also offer a program for residents of shelters and transitional housing, providing health education/coaching, healthcare navigation training, and primary care in the free clinic. (Less)
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Children, Youth and Family Programs: City on a Hill, Inc. serves low-income children, youth and families with a wide range of programs. Each year hundreds of youth are enrolled in the afterschool cent ... (More)
Children, Youth and Family Programs: City on a Hill, Inc. serves low-income children, youth and families with a wide range of programs. Each year hundreds of youth are enrolled in the afterschool center, outdoor summer programs, and weekly youth group. In (Less)
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Training Programs: City on a Hill, Inc. provides training programs focused on poverty and justice, including poverty simulations, racial residue training, urban plunge weekends, four to six-day short- ... (More)
Training Programs: City on a Hill, Inc. provides training programs focused on poverty and justice, including poverty simulations, racial residue training, urban plunge weekends, four to six-day short-term mission trips, and innovative compassion events. Th (Less)
City on A Hill Inc. has earned a 100% 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
100% of beacon score
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. 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.
Children, youth, and families we serve live in Milwaukee's central city, primarily in Zip Codes 53233 and 53208. Here, 66.2% of residents live below the poverty line – nearly three times the 24.9% of residents living in poverty city-wide. When we look at child poverty in these Zip Codes, the differences are even greater. Whereas in the city 36% of children live in poverty; in Zip Code 53208, 39% of children live in poverty; and in 53233, an astounding 76% of children live below the poverty line. (census data, 2018 update).
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, Case management notes, Community meetings or town halls, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees, 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 identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, 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, Our community partners
How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship with them or shifted power - over decisions, resources, rules or in other ways - to them?
Our Neighborhood Council was created in 2013 to: 1) To identify and articulate needs of the community, 2) to advise the board on Ends Policies to meet the needs of people being served by City on a Hill, and 3) to contribute to the evaluation of programs and services of the organization. Since that time, the Council has been instrumental to guide the evolution of our program initiatives and transformed the culture of how we go about designing or scaling programs. Once new additional, for example, was deciding to incorporate COVID-19 education efforts, including the provision of the COVID-19 vaccine, as a result of stated client needs.
What challenges does your organization face in collecting feedback from the people you serve?
We don't have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Briefly describe a recent change that your organization made in response to feedback from the people you serve.
We redesigned our youth center operation to create a Remote Learning Center that expanded our service hours to meet the needs of families related to learning support for students during the pandemic. Parents and caregivers shared direct feedback on what was most important for them at the onset of distance learning shifts across all schools for the 2019-2020 school year and beyond. We used the feedback to adapt our delivery systems, hours, support structures, and staffing to meet the emergent needs of our constituents.
This organization has not provided information regarding the Equity Practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective equity policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
City on A Hill 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
City on a Hill is a catalyst working to save children, reach parents, and transform families in our central city neighborhood by breaking the cycle of generational poverty. We seek to end poverty in all its forms by empowering people with the spiritual, social, educational, and economic resources they need to realize their full potential, making transformational change possible in our community.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
City on a Hill’s vision is to see the Lord exalted and His Kingdom enlarged as we embrace families in our neighborhood, equip Christians in our city and engage churches across our nation to revitalize entire neighborhoods. Ultimately, we see neighborhood residents empowered as the core catalysts to end poverty in all its forms at the neighborhood level.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Catalyzing discipleship-making movements in urban, central-city neighborhoods
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: Accelerating pathways to economic mobility for youth and families in impoverished, central-city neighborhoods
Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.
Goal Three: Equip and mobilize a broad and diverse coalition of change agents to implement bold solutions and scale what works in ending poverty in all of its forms
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
We invest in the development of our Removing Racial Residue program to better equip our team and volunteers to lead change in ways that are cognizant and responsive to the needs of low-income communities and people of color. Further, we invest in sending staff to the Global Leaders Summit and making the content available afterward to our team so they can glean from leaders across the world on the most consequential leadership insights for 21st century needs. We also send a handful of team members every year to leadership journeys where they get to engage in coaching and group conversations about leading teams and creating inclusive cultures that drive impact.
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
We are part of the United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee collaborative where we share data, insights, and share strategies to better address the needs of youth, families, and neighborhoods in our city. This includes collective impact efforts and events that scale our reach, advocate for what works and share insights across our teams. City on a Hill annually runs webinars, sessions, and events to inform others on that state of poverty in Milwaukee, as well as emphasize research-based solutions to accelerate progress. We work with media experts and higher ed institutions like the Medical College of Wisconsin to raise awareness of factors important in poverty alleviation, like the social determinants of health. Our community-building efforts are informed by close collaboration with other neighborhood agencies like the Near Westside Partners and their community ambassador to ensure we are responsive to the most pertinent resident needs.
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
We have a blended staffing protocol that allows staff flexibility to work remotely when the nature of their work allows for it or if it becomes necessary for safety considerations (e.g., symptoms or exposure to someone who is ill). While our facility remains closed to the general public without appointments, our staff are mostly on-site serving the needs of the community, as we're deemed an essential service organization. We still offer emergency services (food & hygiene needs) for families and members of the community throughout the week following social distance standards. We've noticed an increase in demand for emergency services in the past months and have needed to provide additional emergency services and referrals to our guests. Our clinic is open and are serving guests, mostly assisting with medication refills, as well as telemedicine visits. Our monthly health outreaches resumed with various adjustments for safety. Our youth program staff are still serving youth, with methods modified to include virtual and outdoor activities due to COVID-19. All off-site deliveries and on-site programming follow CDC guidelines and social distancing practices.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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