Mission: Since 1983, St. Joseph has served the materially poor and homeless community of greater Elizabeth, New Jersey, by providing basic human needs such as food, clothing ... (More)
St. Joseph Social Service Center is a 501(c)(3) organization, with an IRS ruling year of 2020, and donations are tax-deductible.
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Encompass Rating System by Charity Navigator
Overall Score
84
out of 100
This charity's score is a passing score.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores: 40% Finance & Accountability and 60% Impact & Results
Learn about the Encompass Rating System: Overview | FAQ | Release Notes
Finance & Accountability
This score provides an assessment of a nonprofit's financial health (stability, efficiency and sustainability) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
Finance & Accountability Score
97
out of 100
The score earned by St. Joseph Social Service Center is a passing score
This V6 of the Finance & Accountability Score provides a baseline measure of an organization's health including the indicators listed in the report below.
This score represents Form 990 data from 2021, the latest year electronically filed and published by the IRS.
Finance & Accountability Report
97
of 100 points
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Program Expense Ratio
74.24%
Higher effect on score
More data
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
Board Composition
13/13 Independent
Higher effect on score
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
Independent Audit or Financial Review
Has Audit/Review
Higher effect on score
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
Liabilities to Assets Ratio
27.11%
Lower effect on score
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
Website
Listed
Lower effect on score
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
Conflict of Interest Policy
Listed
Lower effect on score
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
Board Meeting Minutes
Documented
Lower effect on score
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
Document Retention and Destruction
Listed
Lower effect on score
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
Whistleblower Policy
Missing
Lower effect on score
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
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
No Data Available
Key Persons data is currently unavailable for this organization. This data is only available if this charity has at least one year of electronically-filed Form 990 data filed within the last six years.
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:
Special school for the blind, handicapped, etc (BMF activity code: 031)
Hospital (BMF activity code: 150)
Publishing activities (BMF activity code: 120)
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
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. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
St. Joseph Social Service Center reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Staffing
We were not able to operate our social services inside and had to pivot to providing all operations outdoors.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
St. Joseph Social Service Center received generous funding from new sources to sustain its food insecurity programs during a time of increased demand during the pandemic. These included NJ Pandemic Relief Fund, No Kid Hungry, and Northern New Jersey Community Foundation. We also continue to get increased distributions from NJ Food Bank.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
While our Job Training program and clothing distribution were on hiatus to comply with social distancing orders, we offered limited mental health counseling and the following emergency programming: - Distributed bagged lunches outside at our center six days per week (Monday through Saturday), - Provided prescription medication assistance to registered clients to enable access to life sustaining medications for diabetes, high blood pressure, and other chronic medical conditions, - Dispensed emergency funds for rent and utilities to registered clients who are in danger of becoming homeless due to the sudden loss of a job or other hardships, and - Educated and informed our community members about access to public services/benefits.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
Due to the pandemic, all services at St. Joseph’s Social Service Center were being provided outside to minimize transmission risk to our clients, volunteers, and staff. We aimed to provide quick service to keep the line moving—particularly in extreme weather conditions!—while maintaining social distancing. Updates to our cloud-based client database application greatly expedited services and supported public safety measures, both during the pandemic and into the future. SJSSC’s client database is a cloud-based application that allows us to track clients and what services they are receiving from our center. The main enhancement that we made was issuing our registered clients identification cards with a barcode that we can scan to record the services they are receiving. We also enhanced the system to enable us to communicate with clients via email, and to facilitate reporting for program management purposes.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
We will continue to use the new client database system described above. Our organization also received a grant to purchase a large refrigerated container to allow for the increased and equitable distribution of fresh and healthy foods.
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
75
out of 100
St. Joseph Social Service Center is cost-effective, earning a passing score.
Impact
$3 provides a meal to a person in need.
Do you work at St. Joseph Social Service Center? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.
Impact & Results Report
75
of 100 points
This beta feature is currently viewable only on desktop or tablet screens. Check back later for updates.
Rated Program
Program
Food Assistance Program
Activities
The nonprofit prepares and serves meals to beneficiaries.
Program Type
Food Distribution
Beneficiaries Served
Program Geography
Time Period of Data
7/1/20 to 6/30/21
Outcomes and Cost
Outcomes: Changes in the lives of those served by a nonprofit. They can be caused by the nonprofit.
Costs: The money spent by a nonprofit and its partners and beneficiaries.
Impact: Outcome caused by a nonprofit relative to its cost.
Cost-effectiveness: A judgment as to whether the cost was a good use of resources to cause the outcome.
Outcome Metric
A meal provided to a person in need
Outcome Data Source
Ratings are based on data the nonprofit itself collects on its work. We use the most recent year with sufficient data. Typically, this data allows us to calculate direct changes in participants' lives, such as increased income.
Outcome data collected during the program. The nonprofit submitted data on the amount of food it provides.
Method for Attributing Outcomes
We don't know if the observed changes were caused by the nonprofit's program or something else happening at the same time (e.g., a participant got a raise). To determine causation, we take the outcomes we observe and subtract an estimate of the outcomes that would have happened even without the program (i.e., counterfactual outcomes).
We assume that the distribution of a meal from one nonprofit's food distribution program does not diminish the amount of food distributed by any other (neighboring) food distribution program. This “counterfactual” assumption about the amount of food distributed in the absence of the nonprofit’s food distribution program implies that the benefit of a meal to a beneficiary in need constitutes a net gain; the gain is not offset by reductions in food provided to other beneficiaries in need. We therefore set the counterfactual to zero.
Cost Data Source
After estimating the program's outcomes, we need to determine how much it cost to achieve those outcomes. All monetary costs are counted, whether they are borne by a nonprofit service deliverer or by the nonprofit’s public and private partners.
Program cost data reported by the nonprofit. Partner and beneficiary costs reported by the nonprofit or estimated by Charity Navigator.
Cost Calculation
$658,056 program costs + $83,697 partner costs + $0 beneficiary costs = $741,753 total costs
Impact and Determination
We calculate impact, defined as the change in outcomes attributable to a program divided by the cost to achieve those outcomes.
Impact Calculation
$741,753 total costs / 250,000 meals provided = roughly $3 provides a meal to a person in need.
Benchmark for Rating
Impact & Results scores of food distribution programs are based on the cost of a meal relative to the cost that a food-secure person incurs to buy a meal in that county. Programs receive an Impact & Results score of 100 if they are less than 75% the cost of a meal and a score of 75 if they are less than 125%. If a nonprofit reports impact but doesn't meet the benchmark for cost-effectiveness, it earns a score of 50.
Determination
Cost-effective
Analysis Details
Analysis conducted in 2022 by Charity Navigator using data submitted by the nonprofit, theory and evidence from scientific research studies, and public datasets.
Additional Information
Unscored
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Largest Programs
St. Joseph Social Service Center reported its three largest programs on its FY 2021 Form 990 as:
$1,234,000
Spent in most recent FY
76%
Percent of program expenses
The Food Program provides daily sandwiches and food from donor partners to anyone who is hungry. The Soup kitchen serves a hot meal weekly on Saturdays. Full bags of food are distributed monthly to re ... (More)
$184,601
Spent in most recent FY
11%
Percent of program expenses
The Healthy Lifestyles Program assists clients with medication and medical expenses. Education and nutrition awareness are offered to encourage clients to make healthy choices.The Program assists appr ... (More)
$176,561
Spent in most recent FY
10%
Percent of program expenses
Case Management, holiday gifts, summer camp for children, and other seasonal activities are additional services that are available to clients.Case Management is a component to all of our programs. Whe ... (More)
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
Not Currently Scored
St. Joseph Social Service Center is currently not eligible for a Leadership & Adaptability score because we have not received its L&A survey responses.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that the organization has not yet submitted data for evaluation.
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
Not Currently Scored
St. Joseph Social Service Center is currently not eligible for a Culture & Community score because we have not received its Constituent Feedback or Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion data. Nonprofit organizations are encouraged to fill out the How We Listen and Equity Practices sections of their Candid profile.
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.
Culture & Community Report
Unscored
This beta feature is currently viewable only on desktop or tablet screens. Check back later for updates.
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
This organization has not provided information regarding the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective DEI policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
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
Constituent Feedback and Listening Practice data are not available for this organization. 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.
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.
