Mission: Carver's mission is to close opportunity gaps for all children and to ensure they graduate high school on time and are ready for college and careers.
Carver operates 47 before-school, after-school, and summer programs serving approximately 2,500 K-12 students in the 20 Norwalk Public Schools, Side by Side Charter School, the Carver Community Center, the Classical Studies Magnet Academy in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Carver programming aligns with in-school curricula, takes place within the students' respective schools, and is led by each school's daytime certified teachers. Carver students also receive social-emotional learning and wellness support.
Since 2005, 100% of our seniors have graduated on time and almost all become first-generation college students. Our alumni are ambitious critical thinkers making their mark in the fields of law, government, medicine, finance, entertainment, professional sports, technology, education, entrepreneurship, and the creative arts.
The Carver Foundation of Norwalk is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 1944, and donations are tax-deductible.
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Important note on the timeliness of ratings
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Financial and Accountability & Transparency score for The Carver Foundation of Norwalk is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations.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.
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Star Rating System by Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.
Exceptional
This charity's score is 94.69, earning it a 4-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.
This score is calculated from two sub-scores:
Finance: 92.50 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 100.00 View details
This score represents Form 990 data from 2019. More recent filing data is available, but it has not been factored into this score, due to COVID-19's effect on this organization.
View this organization’s historical ratings.
Rating update postponed due to COVID-19's impact on this organization. View The Carver Foundation of Norwalk's response.
Star Rated Report
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Program Expense Ratio
86.7%
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. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Administrative Expenses
3.8%
As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Expenses
9.3%
This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Liabilities to Assets Ratio
7.5%
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).
Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.
Source: IRS Form 990
Fundraising Efficiency
$0.09
The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Working Capital Ratio
0.39 years
Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense Growth
15.71%
We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Yn/Y0)(1/n)]-1, where Y0 is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Yn is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y0 and Yn.
Source: IRS Form 990
Governance
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990
| Governance: | |
|---|---|
| Independent Voting Board Members ... (More) | |
| No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories:
| |
| Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria.
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| Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More) | |
| Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More) | |
| Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More) | |
| Compensates Board ... (More) |
Policies
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Policies: | |
|---|---|
| Conflict of Interest ... (More) | |
| Whistleblower ... (More) | |
| Records Retention and Destruction ... (More) | |
| CEO Compensation Process ... (More) | |
| Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories:
The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less) |
Transparency
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.
Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website
| Transparency: | |
|---|---|
| CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More) | |
| Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More) | |
| Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More) | |
| Form 990 Available on Website ... (More) |
Additional Information
Unscored
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Total Revenue and Expenses
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Salary of Key Persons
Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. 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
Novelette Peterkin, CEO
$159,862 (3.95% of Total Expenses)
Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2020
Business Master File Data
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:
Gifts, grants, or loans to other organizations (BMF activity code: 602)
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
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)
Data Sources: IRS Forms 990
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 view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).
Pandemic Response
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.
The Carver Foundation of Norwalk reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
Carver in-person special events were canceled, e.g., house parties, golf tournaments, annual Child of America gala. The gala became a virtual event. Nevertheless, Carver was able to raise the revenue expected from special events from other sources and we exceeded our fundraising goals for both years (2019-2020 and 2020-2021). Carver applied and received the PPP loan in the 2019-2020 fiscal year that enabled us to keep all staff fully employed; the loan was converted to a grant in the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
The Carver Community Center served as a primary distribution point for free daily meals provided by Norwalk Public Schools (NPS). The Carver Community Center serves as a location for receiving vaccinations. Our students’ daytime teachers (Carver after-school staff) seamlessly sustained our academic, enrichment, and wellness programming virtually in all the K-12 NPS schools, Side By Side Charter School, the Carver Community Center, and the Classical Studies Magnet Academy in Bridgeport, CT. Carver provided “learning pods” for Norwalk public school students at the Carver Community Center on virtual learning days. This program served families of essential workers and those who did not have the means for private tutors or childcare during the workday. Carver provided financial and practical assistance to distressed Carver families. Carver summer programming abided by all CDC, state, and city health rules.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
The pandemic has been a defining moment for the Carver community as we revisit the principles and values that have guided us since our founding in 1938. The challenges of working remotely encouraged collegiality and helped Carver staff learn new skills. Our major donors, released from special event roles and the like, are focusing directly on Carver’s work, aligning values and vision with the resources needed. Programmatically, Carver is adding new Social Emotional Learning supports in each of the programs, we are engaging more national STEM providers like FIRST Lego League to participate in our Project-Based Learning after-school sessions, and we are redesigning our high school after-school program to include an Earn & Learn component and adding in-school full-time/daytime Future Ready Coordinators at each of Norwalk’s two public high schools to help ensure Carver's 9-12 grade students are on a path to college/career success.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
The pandemic served to greatly strengthen Carver. The Carver Community Center served as a strategic partner to the city, health department, and public schools to deliver food, vaccines, and other supports to Norwalk residents. This success resulted in a now completed capital campaign to completely renovate the community center over the next year. Carver staff and students will continue to use new technologies to sustain increased accessibility and collegiality. We are implementing a new interdepartmental digital dashboard to sustain the real-time communications and outcomes measurement we achieved since the onset of the pandemic. The Carver Community Center remains a resource to the city, health department, and the schools to meet needs as they arise. We will continue to sustain DEI training across all departments. Our board is updating our 2021-2026 strategic plan accordingly.
Historical Ratings
| Date Published | Form 990 FYE | Overall Score | Overall Rating |
| Rating Version: 2.1 | |||
| 6/1/2020 | 2019 | 94.69 | |
| 10/1/2019 | 2018 | 92.14 | |
| 6/1/2018 | 2017 | 92.45 | |
| 5/1/2017 | 2016 | 91.17 | |
| 6/1/2016 | 2015 | 86.50 |  |
| Rating Version: 2.0 | |||
| 3/1/2016 | 2015 | 91.48 | |
| 2/1/2016 | 2015 | 90.15 | |
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990. | |||
| 8/1/2015 | 2014 | 89.98 | |
| 5/1/2014 | 2013 | 86.00 | |
Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability
Impact & Results
This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
Impact & Results Score
Not Currently Scored
The Carver Foundation of Norwalk cannot currently be evaluated by our Encompass Rating 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.
Do you work at The Carver Foundation of Norwalk? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.
Additional Information
Unscored
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Largest Programs
The Carver Foundation of Norwalk reported its largest program on its FY 2019 Form 990 as:
$3,563,161
Spent in most recent FY
100%
Percent of program expenses
After-school Services for Underprivileged Children
Previous: Impact & Results / Next: Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
This score 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.
Leadership & Adaptability Score
100
out of 100
The score earned by The Carver Foundation of Norwalk is a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.
Encompass Rating V4 provides an evaluation of the organization's Leadership & Adaptability through the nonprofit organization submitting a survey response directly to Charity Navigator.
Leadership & Adaptability Report
100
of 100 points
Mission
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s mission
CARVER'S MISSION IS TO CLOSE OPPORTUNITY GAPS FOR ALL VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND ENSURE THEY GRADUATE HIGH SCHOOL ON TIME AND COLLEGE-READY.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Vision
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
When the highest learning opportunities are equitably accessible, our students’ highest potential is unbounded. Our Vision is a community where all children feel loved, respected, and encouraged to develop to their fullest potential. Carver combines a set of key partnerships between school districts and their highly skilled educators, community organizations, and parents to deliver after-school, summer, and community programs that consistently demonstrate striking results.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Strategic Goals
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: All Carver K-12 students transition to the next grade on time and are prepared for the work ahead.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Two: 100% of Carver seniors graduate high school on time (which has been the case since 2005) with a plan for college/career.
Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.
Goal Three: Fully implement our 2021-2026 Strategic Plan, including Capacity Building initiatives, the complete renovation of the Carver Community Center, and new after-school and summer programs.
Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Leadership Development
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Describe an investment in leadership
Carver’s CEO, Novelette Peterkin, attended Harvard University’s Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management program, which offered faculty presentations, case studies on nonprofit organizations, group exercises, and structured and informal group discussions with global nonprofit leaders, employing insights from the curriculum and from peers to develop a strategic direction and formulate an action plan that Carver is now implementing. All staff engages in professional development opportunities.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Mobilizing for Mission
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Policy Advocacy
What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?
Carver programs are created and sustained by partnerships. Carver’s program model (e.g., in close coordination with each school principal, hiring certified teachers to extend the school day and year and giving them flexible budgets that adhere to a Carver program structure) is based on trust and data sharing agreements with school districts. Carver’s CEO was invited by Norwalk Public Schools (NPS) to participate in drafting of the district’s 2021-2026 strategic plan. Carver board members have been and are NPS school principals and administrators. Carver expands to new schools by invitation, not by solicitation. Carver consistently wins state and federal grants and is close to state and city political leaders. Carver is a member of the Norwalk Acts collaborative. Carver’s CEO is a board member of The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk and is a frequent speaker representing educational issues.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Story of Adaptability
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
The pandemic confirmed Carver's ability to adapt and grow with our partners. The Carver Community Center served as a primary distribution point for free daily student meals and later as a location for receiving vaccinations. Our students’ daytime teachers (Carver after-school and summer staff) seamlessly sustained our academic, enrichment, and wellness programming virtually in all Norwalk’s public K-12 schools, Side By Side Charter School, the Carver Community Center, and the Classical Studies Magnet Academy in Bridgeport, CT. Carver provided “learning pods” for Norwalk public school students at the Carver Community Center on virtual learning days. Carver provided financial and practical assistance to distressed Carver families. Carver summer programming abided by all CDC, state, and city health rules. The challenges of working remotely encouraged collegiality and helped Carver staff learn new skills. Our major donors focused directly on Carver’s work, aligning values and vision with the resources needed. Carver is adding new Social Emotional Learning supports in each of our programs, we are engaging more national STEM providers like FIRST Lego League to participate in our Project-Based Learning after-school sessions, and we are redesigning our high school after-school program to include an Earn & Learn component and adding in-school full-time/daytime Future Ready Coordinators at each of Norwalk’s two public high schools to help ensure Carver's 9-12 grade students are on a path to college/career success. We expect remote learning will be here to stay and will be primarily teacher-designed and led. We know that all learning is self-learning, which is why Carver has for years utilized personalized literacy and math digital learning tools. For many of our students, our teachers serve as a reference point or touchstone in the learning process. The pandemic will be the new reference point for how Carver conducts its after-school, summer, and community programming.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Additional Information
Unscored
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Organization Leadership
Novelette Peterkin
Executive Director
Phil Butterfield
President
Previous: Leadership & Adaptability
Culture & Community
This score provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves. Learn more about how and why we rate Culture & Community.
Culture & Community Score
100
out of 100
The Carver Foundation of Norwalk has earned a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating. The organization provided data about how it listens to constituents (Constituent Feedback) and its Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) practices (see report below).
The Culture & Community Beacon is comprised of the following metrics:
Constituent Feedback: 100/100 (30% of beacon score)
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion: 100/100 (70% of beacon score)
Culture & Community Report
100
of 100 points
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Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
100/100 points
70% of beacon score
This organization's score of 100 is a passing score. The organization reported that it is implementing 14 diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective DEI policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
View this organization's DEI Strategies
Methodology
We are utilizing data collected by Candid to document and assess the DEI practices implemented by the organization. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the Equity Strategies section of their Candid profiles to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Constituent Feedback
100/100 points
30% 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.
View this organization's Constituent Feedback Practices
Methodology
We've partnered with Candid to survey organizations about their feedback practices. Nonprofit organizations can fill out the How We Listen section of their Candid profile to receive a rating.
Learn more about the methodology.
Analysis and Research
Like the overall Encompass Rating System, the Culture & Community Beacon is designed to evolve as metrics are developed and ready for integration. Below you can find more information about the metrics we currently evaluate in this beacon and their relevance to nonprofit performance.
Constituent Feedback
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
