Bucks County Opportunity Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
236406222
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Doylestown, PA, USA
Phone
2153458175
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Emergency Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$14,888,469
Expenses
$14,570,162
Assets
$7,853,584
Liabilities
$3,497,340

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERIN A LUKOSS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIN A LUKOSS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $205,810 total reported compensation
  • SARAJANE HAMILTON (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $133,491 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to reduce poverty and partner with our community to promote economic self-sufficiency. Our vision is to elevate the awareness of poverty, and to create and lead partnerships to make our community a "bridges out of poverty" community. (continued on sch. O)we strive to be a model of seamless case management and influence our community to make reducing poverty one of its priorities.

What it reported doing in 2024

The economic self-sufficiency (es) program is the core program of the opportunity council and is at the heart of the mission. The es program requires partnerships and collaborations, and both public and private funding to be effective and efficient. While all our programs contribute to a more stable community, this program helps people leave poverty, permanently and thrive in the community. 420 households have graduated from the program since 1997 with an average increase of income of over $35,000 annually. The es program also includes the volunteer income tax assistance program (vita) which assists low to moderate income households by preparing tax returns for free and eliminating the cost burden of annual filing. (continued on sch. O)this program closes the income gap that families experience throughout the year by maximizing refunds through earned income tax credits. In fy25 we completed a record number of 1,577 tax returns.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 61% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.6%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 89.5%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: $41.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 37th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.1%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.45; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.6% of revenue deployed · 89.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $13M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $206K · 26 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $682K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 44 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 43 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.