Between Friends

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363460990
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7732745232
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Victims' Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,985,612
Expenses
$3,174,296
Assets
$1,844,370
Liabilities
$640,949

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DANIEL HERNANDEZ (President Emeri)
  • SUSAN HOESLY (President Elect)
  • JENN SPLINTER (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • VERDA BHATTI (Executive Dir.): $118,450 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Between friends is a nonprofit agency dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence and building a community free of abuse.

What it reported doing in 2024

Counseling and advocacy consists of the following services: crisis line: 24-hour access, toll-free domestic violence hotline (1-800-603-help) is a primary point of access for individuals seeking help. Trained volunteers and employees provide callers with safety planning, connections to between friends' services and other community resources, and emotional support.counseling and support services: a clinical team of masters-level counselors provide evidenced-based counseling and trauma-informed support services, child-parent psychotherapy (cpp), economic empowerment education, engagement in pro-social activities and childcare.court advocacy: english and spanish-speaking advocates serve victims in the chicago and rolling meadows courthouses, explaining legal rights under the Illinois domestic violence act, court accompaniment, assisting in seeking orders of protection, as well as providing emotional support, resources, and safety planning.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 85% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.3%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.58; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.5% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.7% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $118K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.