Bergen County Bar Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223107113
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Hackensack, NJ, USA
Phone
2014880433
Rating
55
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Printing, Publishing

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$95,560
Expenses
$87,032
Assets
$601,975
Liabilities
$5,905

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DONALD M ONORATO (President)
  • CHARLES JX KAHWATY (Past President)
  • CYNTHIA PETROWSKY (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • LEVI BARRETT (Trustee)
  • CARMINE ALAMPI (Trustee)
  • JOHN BARTNICK (Trustee)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To promote and support the science fo jurisprudence through grants, scholarships, seminars and charitable activities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community legal education seminar program - to promote the public's knowlege of the law and their legal rights. No seminars were prsented due to the covid pandemic in 2020

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 24
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.4%; rating input score 51
  • Program expense ratio: 56.4%; rating input score 56
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.9%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.92; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.4% of revenue deployed · 56.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 26 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $49K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 26 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.