COAR PEACE MISSION Subordinate
Sheltering, educating, and healing children for El Salvador's future since 1980
COAR PEACE MISSION
EIN: 34-1462492 Subordinate
as of November 2023
as of November 13, 2023
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our organization responds to poverty and violence in El Salvador (in Central America) by giving 50-100 vulnerable children a safe place to live from infancy - graduation from high school; by subsidizing the local parish school (K-12, 1,000 students); by providing subsidized medical, dental, and pharmacy service at our on-site clinic or visiting professionals; other spiritual or adult-education and vocational training.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Sponsor a COAR Child
We support the COAR Children's Village largely through sponsorship, so, SPONSOR A CHILD! We welcome your sponsorship of a COAR child. Sponsors receive a letter and picture twice a year (and are welcome to write more often, but it is not necessary.) We have two programs rates, $15/month and $25/month. It will change your heart and save their lives. Learn more at: www.coarpeacemission.org
Learn about COAR
We love to bring our pictures, props, and story to classrooms, church groups, Spanish clubs - wherever folks gather to learn about the world and help change it. Call our office or browse our website: www.coarpeacemission.org
Mission Co-op Plan
Through the Mission Cooperative Plan of the Catholic Church we present COAR's mission for the Archdiocese of San Salvador to churches throughout the US and Canada. We speak at masses and often stay to speak to the parish school, PSR, youth groups, social justice groups, or other parish ministry groups. Call our office or browse our website: www.coarpeacemission.org
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
COAR's goals are: to protect vulnerable children from the poverty and violence of current-day El Salvador and raise them to be healthy and productive adults, good parents and citizens; to support the crucial institutions of our local parish school and youth programs; to support the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador in its mission to offer Gospel-based compassion and support for the poor and marginalized; to bring North American supporters into genuine solidarity with the COAR children, the families that they come from, and the Church in El Salvador.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
COAR's strategies to reach these goals are: to offer comprehensive foster-care for children 0-HS graduation including education, health, psychological help, and family/parent training; support and pay fair wages to a strong professional staff of teachers and child-care personnel; to design, enforce, and audit child protection policies (considered a model within the region); to be in constant contact with the Church hierarchy and program directors to ensure that COAR is working within their strategies to create a peaceful and productive society in El Salvador.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
COAR's capabilities to effect these strategies are: a strong team of Salvadoran child care professionals at the COAR Children's Village; a 40-year-long relationship with the Archdiocese of San Salvador's hierarchy and social program developers and directors; a strong donor base in North America that provides steady support to programs (so they don't have to drastically retrench with budget cuts every year); a 40-year commitment to solidarity and subsidiarity with the Church in El Salvador beginning with the murders (in 1980) of St. Romero and the Four North American Churchwomen, including our own Sr. Dorothy Kazel, OSU, and Ms. Jean Donovan of the Cleveland [Diocese] Latin American Mission Team.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
COAR's accomplishments since 1980 are: thousands of children who were sheltered during the civil war (1980-1992), reunited with families after the war, or raised to independence in the post-war environment; from 1992-2002 children were raised to engage with the recovering economy after the war; since 2002 children and staff have been protected from gang violence by COAR's physical plant strength and reliability, identification with the Church's anti-gang stance and programs, and internal culture of peace and attention to economic self-sustainability.
Financials
Revenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2021 info
46.22
Months of cash in 2021 info
8.3
Fringe rate in 2021 info
15%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
Financial data
COAR PEACE MISSION
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
This snapshot of COAR PEACE MISSION’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
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Business model indicators
Profitability info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $43,120 | $14,727 | $45,564 | $102,556 | $257,886 |
As % of expenses | 6.7% | 2.0% | 6.9% | 17.0% | 42.8% |
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $42,312 | $14,574 | $45,309 | $102,556 | $257,886 |
As % of expenses | 6.6% | 2.0% | 6.9% | 17.0% | 42.8% |
Revenue composition info | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $700,838 | $710,529 | $637,599 | $724,182 | $817,257 |
Total revenue, % change over prior year | 23.9% | 1.4% | -10.3% | 13.6% | 12.9% |
Program services revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Investment income | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Government grants | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3.6% |
All other grants and contributions | 99.3% | 99.4% | 100.0% | 96.5% | 96.4% |
Other revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3.5% | 0.0% |
Expense composition info | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total expenses before depreciation | $639,682 | $721,404 | $660,179 | $603,097 | $602,371 |
Total expenses, % change over prior year | 8.2% | 12.8% | -8.5% | -8.6% | -0.1% |
Personnel | 21.2% | 20.4% | 19.4% | 21.3% | 21.3% |
Professional fees | 1.4% | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.9% |
Occupancy | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 1.8% |
Interest | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Pass-through | 63.0% | 65.4% | 64.4% | 65.0% | 65.0% |
All other expenses | 12.7% | 11.4% | 13.1% | 10.1% | 10.0% |
Full cost components (estimated) info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total expenses (after depreciation) | $640,490 | $721,557 | $660,434 | $603,097 | $602,371 |
One month of savings | $53,307 | $60,117 | $55,015 | $50,258 | $50,198 |
Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Fixed asset additions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Total full costs (estimated) | $693,797 | $781,674 | $715,449 | $653,355 | $652,569 |
Capital structure indicators
Liquidity info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Months of cash | 3.9 | 3.2 | 3.1 | 8.7 | 8.3 |
Months of cash and investments | 9.7 | 8.3 | 9.7 | 13.8 | 18.6 |
Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 8.8 | 8.0 | 9.6 | 12.5 | 17.7 |
Balance sheet composition info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cash | $205,760 | $193,976 | $169,139 | $439,405 | $416,611 |
Investments | $313,326 | $307,377 | $366,426 | $256,591 | $516,407 |
Receivables | $6,185 | $6,173 | $4,362 | $9,292 | $8,521 |
Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $6,183 | $6,183 | $4,579 | $4,579 | $4,579 |
Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 93.4% | 95.9% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% |
Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 1.0% | 1.5% | 0.7% | 4.5% | 1.0% |
Unrestricted net assets | $468,158 | $482,732 | $528,041 | $630,597 | $888,483 |
Temporarily restricted net assets | $65,097 | $29,583 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Permanently restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Total restricted net assets | $65,097 | $29,583 | $20,489 | $54,129 | $45,742 |
Total net assets | $533,255 | $512,315 | $548,530 | $684,726 | $934,225 |
Key data checks
Key data checks info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
Executive Director
Ms. Mary Stevenson
Mary Stevenson is the Executive Director of the COAR Peace Mission – the U.S. fundraising and outreach arm of the COAR Children’s Village in Zaragoza, El Salvador. She was a student at Beaumont High School in Cleveland Heights when Sr. Dorothy Kazel, OSU, left to begin her five-year assignment on the Cleveland Diocese’s Latin American Mission Team. Prevented from visiting the mission in the 1980s because of the civil war, including the murder of Sr. Dorothy, Mary first visited COAR in 1990 and experienced the anguish of El Salvador’s civil war through the orphans at COAR. Repeated visits through the years revealed the deep, healing, vital nature of the care, education, and vocational training that COAR gives its children. Won over by COAR, Ms. Stevenson left a business career in chemistry and software project management to become Executive Director in 2004.
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
COAR PEACE MISSION
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
COAR PEACE MISSION
Board of directorsas of 01/23/2023
Board of directors data
Ms. Melanie Reda
Entreprenuer
Term: 2019 -
John Papadopulos
Christopher Janezic
VASJ High School
Joseph Raguso
Sr. Sheila Marie Tobbe, OSU
Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland
Melanie Reda
Gary Siefring
Margarita Krncevic
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP
Joan Myers
Daphne Held
John Atlee Horner
Laura Griesmer
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No