Black Wellness & Prosperity Center

What it reported doing in 2024

Our programs focus on improving maternal, infant, and community health outcomes through a comprehensive approach: infrastructure building, advocacy, research, and strategic partnerships.our work: the purpose of our provider engagement is to equip clinicians in hospital and clinical settings with knowledge on the benefits of doula support for their patients and how to create and utilize opportunities to collaborate with doulas for improved maternal and infant health outcomes.- the black doula network aims to address the doula provider deficit in fresno and build the necessary backbone and infrastructure to support and sustain doulas. By the end of 2024, four community members completed the black doula network training and earned their certification.- bwpc launched black pregnancy care support groupsa space for expectant mothers to connect, learn, and prepare for birth. Led by a certified nurse-midwife, black doula network doulas, and community health advocates, the program offers guidance, health education, and community support. - community outreach and access to care: bwpcs team of community health advocates (cha), also known as community health workers, support physical and mental well-being by helping families access healthcare and essential resources. Bwpcs mobile health unit is utilized as a community health and training vehicle. Its purpose is to serve fresnos black birthing persons and babies, as well as provide direct community care in the neighborhood.- culturally affirming state-of-the-art community birth-simulator: olivia, "liv" is a full-body-sized, proportionate female high-fidelity birth simulator who demonstrates various vital functions, including breathing, heartbeat, labor and birth, and other real-life health conditions. Liv is utilized in the black doula training program as well as in community education.- community health education and training: bwpcs online community health education library is continually expanding with over 50 clinically reviewed maternal and general health topics, including newborn care, breastfeeding, pregnancy complications, mental health and more. Additionally, bwpc develops and leads trainings to support parents and caregivers in reducing risks and promoting safer practices to enhance infant-child safety and well-being. Our safer sleep training was developed to reduce rates of sudden infant death syndrome in our community. Bwpcs carseat safety training, led by an in-house child passenger safety technician, trains parents to properly install carseats and provides child passenger safety education.advocacy: we engage with policy and decision makers to raise awareness of racial health disparities and influence local and state-level policies. Our 2024 advocacy work includes sponsoring assemblymember dr. Joaquin arambulas ab29 that to aimed to include community health workers and doulas as medi-cal providers eligible to receive payments for aces trauma screenings. As a part of the organizations annual black maternal health week advocacy, we developed two proclamations that resulted in proclaiming april 11-17th "black maternal health week" in fresno county and in the city of fresno. Bwpc continues to lead fresnos black maternal health week bringing together, a multi-disciplinary group of policymakers, advocates, hospital administrators, insurance payers, providers, clinicians, public-health professionals, researchers and partners like the California surgeon general, all dedicated to improving maternal child health outcomes. Our black maternal health week events are free and connect mothers with providers, hospitals and insurance, resources and in-depth education on critical topics such as high blood pressure, preeclampsia, preterm birth, anemia, sti prevention, breastfeeding, nutrition and more. Black maternal health week serves as a catalyst for bwpcs year-round work in policy advocacy, education, and community power-building. In the latter half of 2024, bwpc launched a non-partisan voter

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 73.7%; rating input score 74
• Program expense ratio: 70.1%; rating input score 70
• Fundraising efficiency: $26.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 18.5%; rating input score 18; 12th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 13th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Fail
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Fail
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -5.2%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.51; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.7; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 38.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 40% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 41.8% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings