Community Service Alliance

“Prior to filing with the irs, the form 990 (as completed by the organization's certified public accountant) is presented to the treasurer and executive director for review and approval. The form 990 is then distributed to the full board of directors electronically for review. The directors are provided with at least five business days to review the form, with any comments and questions addressed as needed. A board officer then authorizes the final filing of the 990 by signing form 8879-eo and the 990 is electronically submitted to the irs.”

“Each year, the board members are asked to review the organization's conflict of interest policy. Among other things, the policy makes clear that all decisions of the board, officers, and employees of the organization are made solely on the basis of a desire to promote the best interest of the organization and the public good. The conflict of interest statement requests board members to identify to the best of their knowledge affiliations with organizations that may be potentially related to the financials or other substantive operations of the organization. They are also asked to identify circumstances involving either themselves, or a member of their extended family, that may be construed as a conflict of interest. At the staff level, the organization's personnel also ensure that there are no conflicts of interest when considering the engagement of a new vendor. If a potential conflict is identified, appropriate steps are taken to both assess the nature of the potential conflict and, subsequently, to ensure that the possibility of an actual conflict is mitigated. Such mitigation is managed and the letter and spirit of the conflicts policy are upheld.”

“The executive committee annually evaluates the performance of the executive director. Compensation is based on performance and compared to other area mission-comparable organizations of similar size. The board has adopted the irs-written "rebuttable presumption" checklist which is completed contemporaneous with the performance review.”

“Compensation for staff within the organization is determined by the executive director. The level of compensation is set based on performance and in relation to other area mission-comparable organizations of similar size. This compensation is a component of the budget, which is reviewed and approved by the finance committee and also by the board as a whole.”

“The organization's governing documents, form 1023, form 990 conflict of interest policy and financial statements are made available to the public upon request. The form 990, without schedule b) can also be found on several publicly-accessible websites.”

“Community service alliance (csa) has been providing housing, job assistance, and personal, behavioral and spiritual support for men transitioning from poverty, homelessness and addiction for almost 15 years. The mission of csa is to be a catalyst for lasting relationships between people emerging out of homelessness and people willing to participate in their transformation. We carry out that mission by providing affordable, short-term supportive housing, identifying and securing local work experience and employment opportunities, and offering training that fosters personal, behavioral and spiritual support and development, all to promote the eventual independence and self-sufficiency of the men we serve. We assist the men we serve to realize their full potential by relying on christian-based principles to provide housing and job assistance, and address the additional issues - primarily substance abuse, addiction and recovery - which are preventing them from leading productive lives within our community. Csa's vision is to engage eight key communities - foundations, businesses, service providers, local government, faith communities, landlords, neighborhood residents, and the homeless - together in partnership to serve cleveland neighborhoods and each other in ways that have never before been possible. We serve as a catalyst among these key partners to maximize each in a way that builds up the overall community and its residents, provides the men we serve with opportunities to transform their lives, and fosters a broad sense of community collaboration, cooperation and charity. The "home" is arguably the central most important and influential factor contributing to a person's perspective of the world and their place in it. When a home is unstable, unaffordable or otherwise threatened, people grow fearful for their future. In urban communities, affordable housing has become one of the biggest concerns, contributing to destabilized neighborhoods and reinforcing the effects of poverty. By starting with "home- and then adding employment to the package, we believe we can change lives, renew neighborhoods and transform a city. Over the years, csa has developed a comprehensive program designed to accomplish exactly that goal. Csa implemented the housing component of our mission in 2005 with the creation of procop house, the former convent at st. Procop church on cleveland's west side. It is a 22-room house that meets the housing, job assistance, and personal, behavioral and spiritual needs of the men we serve. The success we had with procop house, combined with a continued need for the services we provide, led csa to open a second housing program - fulton house - to further enhance the mission of the organization and reach out to more individuals in need. Fulton house is a 13-room housing program developed to meet the needs of veterans emerging from homelessness. Through fulton house, csa provides an organized approach to address veterans' housing, employment, and personal and behavioral needs, and works in partnership with the va and other existing providers to connect these men with a wide range of additional support services, including but not limited to financial literacy and credit repair services, legal services, medical, health and mental health resources, food and nutrition programs, family and children's services, and other social services and support. A short time later, we noticed a number of residents who were staying with csa for longer periods than our average stay of 11-14 months. While our goal is to encourage, support and be a part of the transition to permanent, independent housing, some men, for a variety of reasons, are not fully prepared to make that transition as quickly. The challenges they experience are often financial in scope, and require the resident to pay off prior debts, get on track with child support, or simply save enough money to manage a budget on their own. The barriers can also be personal in nature,”