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Center for Employment Opportunities Inc

EIN 13-3843322 · New York, NY

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthFair54 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

SEE SCHEDULE O

Income
$116.3 million
Spending
$124.4 million
Spent on programs
88%
Reserves
3.7 months of spending
Largest source of income
government grants, 76%
Employees
9,294
Volunteers
192
Highest pay
$502,003, ceo & executive director

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Fair: 54 out of 100. Higher than 37% of charities in its peer group (employment, over $100m).

  • Reserves

    20 of 35

    Spendable reserves would cover 3.7 months of spending.

  • Debt

    10 of 20

    It owes 45% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    4 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 7% of income.

  • Income trend

    5 of 15

    Income fell 13% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    88% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 4 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 33% of charities in its peer group (employment, over $100m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    14 of 14 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (3)
  1. $60.5 million spent. TRANSITION WORK PROGRAM - IMMEDIATE WORK FOR DAILY PAY: AS DESCRIBED ABOVE, AFTER ORIENTATION, CEO PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WORK ON TRANSITIONAL WORK CREWS. EACH TRANSITIONAL WORK CREW IS COMPRISED OF APPROXIMATELY 5-8 PARTICIPANTS WHO WORK FOR, AND ARE PAID BY, CEO. EACH TRANSITIONAL WORK CREW IS RUN AND SUPERVISED BY A SITE SUPERVISOR, A PERMANENT CEO EMPLOYEE. IN FY2025, CEO PROVIDED TRANSITIONAL EMPLOYMENT TO 8,145 FORMERLY INCARCERATED PERSONS THROUGH ITS 30 OFFICES. CEO'S TRANSITIONAL WORK CREWS ARE TYPICALLY FUNDED BY THE ENTITY RECEIVING THE CREW SERVICES. CEO HAS ESTABLISHED CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH A VARIETY OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES (SUCH AS PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTS, HOUSING AUTHORITIES, AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENTS) AND CERTAIN PRIVATE EMPLOYERS FOR SERVICES INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO GROUNDSKEEPING, BUILDING MAINTENANCE, LITTER ABATEMENT, AND EVENT SETUP AND BREAKDOWN. THE TRANSITIONAL WORK SETTING BENEFITS PARTICIPANTS IN SEVERAL WAYS. FIRST, ALL PARTICIPANTS CAN BEGIN WORKING IMMEDIATELY AFTER COMPLETING ORIENTATION. CEO PAYS EACH MEMBER OF A WORK CREW ON A DAILY BASIS, PROVIDING AN IMPORTANT SOURCE OF INCOME. THE DAILY PAY SCHEDULE ELIMINATES THE INCOME TIMING GAP INHERENT IN BI-WEEKLY OR MONTHLY PAY CYCLES. SECOND, THE CLOSE SUPERVISION PROVIDED BY THE TRAINED PERMANENT SUPERVISOR TO A SMALL NUMBER OF PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS ENABLES SUPERVISORS TO CLOSELY GUIDE AND COACH EACH WORK CREW MEMBER. THE TRANSITIONAL WORK MODEL ALSO FACILITATES PARTICIPANTS IN SUPPORTING ONE ANOTHER AND GAINING MOTIVATION FROM EACH OTHER'S SUCCESSES.
  2. $47.9 million spent. VOCATIONAL TRAINING: CONCURRENT WITH TRANSITIONAL WORK, CEO PROVIDES VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND SUPPORT SERVICES. DURING THE PERIOD THAT PARTICIPANTS ARE WORKING ON TRANSITIONAL WORK CREWS, THEY TYPICALLY MEET WITH A JOB COACH ONE DAY PER WEEK. JOB COACHES REINFORCE THE LESSONS LEARNED DURING TRANSITIONAL WORK, COACH PARTICIPANTS ON JOB PERFORMANCE AND BEHAVIORS, AND ASSIST PARTICIPANTS WITH ANY ISSUES THAT MAY ARISE DURING THEIR TRANSITIONAL WORK EXPERIENCE. DURING THIS TIME CEO ALSO OFFERS WORKSHOPS FOR PARTICIPANTS TO BUILD FINANCIAL SKILLS, IMPROVE DIGITAL LITERACY, AND EFFECTIVELY COMPLETE ONLINE JOB APPLICATIONS. AFTER A PARTICIPANT SHOWS CONSISTENT, HIGH-PERFORMING WORKPLACE BEHAVIORS, HAS INTERVIEW SKILLS, AND HAS RESOLVED EXTERNAL BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT, JOB COACHES ASSESS THE PARTICIPANT AS "JOB START READY AND ASSIGN THEM TO A BUSINESS ACCOUNT MANAGER (BAM). BAMS WORK DIRECTLY WITH EMPLOYERS TO IDENTIFY LABOR MARKET NEEDS AND POTENTIAL JOB OPPORTUNITIES. BAMS THEN MATCH ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS WITH EMPLOYERS. SINCE BECOMING AN INDEPENDENT NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION IN 1996, CEO HAS MADE MORE THAN 51,000 FULL-TIME JOB PLACEMENTS FOR FORMERLY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS. IN FY2024, CEO'S EMPLOYMENT SERVICES RESULTED IN 3,875 FULL-TIME JOB PLACEMENTS IN A VARIETY OF INDUSTRIES AND SECTORS SUCH AS FOOD SERVICE, RETAIL, WHOLESALE, MANUFACTURING, HUMAN SERVICES, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, AND WAREHOUSING. AFTER PARTICIPANTS BEGIN WORKING IN PERMANENT JOBS, THEY MEET REGULARLY WITH A CEO RETENTION SPECIALIST. RETENTION SPECIALISTS WORK WITH EACH PARTICIPANT TO HELP THAT INDIVIDUAL REMAIN CONNECTED TO THE WORKFORCE. RETENTION SPECIALISTS OFFER WORKPLACE COUNSELING, CRISIS MANAGEMENT, NEW JOB DEVELOPMENT IN THE EVENT OF A JOB LOSS, AND LONG-TERM CAREER PLANNING FOR ONE YEAR AFTER PLACEMENT. AN INCENTIVE-BASED JOB RETENTION PROGRAM ALSO REWARDS PARTICIPANTS THE LONGER THEY REMAIN EMPLOYED DURING THAT FIRST YEAR.
  3. $1.1 million spent. CEO'S INCLUSIVE HIRING INITIATIVE IS A DEMAND SIDE APPROACH TO INCREASING EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR JOB SEEKERS WITH PAST CONVICTIONS. CEO WORKS TO ASSIST MID-SIZED AND LARGE PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS IN IMPROVING THEIR HIRING AND TALENT PRACTICES WITH A VIEW TO CREATING MORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND CAREER MOBILITY FOR JOB SEEKERS WITH PAST CONVICTIONS. IN ADDITION, THE INCLUSIVE HIRING PROGRAM PROVIDES SUPPORT TO PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYERS IN BUILDING LOCAL EMPLOYMENT PIPELINES FOR JOB SEEKERS ACROSS MULTIPLE MARKETS, INCLUDING CITIES WHERE CEO OPERATES. CONSISTENT WITH CEO'S MISSION, THIS EFFORT SEEKS TO EDUCATE EMPLOYERS AND POLICYMAKERS THROUGH A VARIETY OF IN-PERSON AND ONLINE LEARNING ACTIVITIES.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since February 1996.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.