Empower Somerset Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237364157
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Somerville, NJ, USA
Phone
9087224900
Rating
90
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,988,859
Expenses
$3,855,423
Assets
$1,328,315
Liabilities
$795,859

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PHILIP DECKER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KRISTEN SCHIRO (EXECUTIVE DI): $123,890 total reported compensation
  • ELLEN DAZET (CFO): $103,380 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Empower somerset assists individuals and families in making positive lifestyle choices and promotes healthy, drug free communities through education, collaboration, and connections to resources.

What it reported doing in 2025

Empower somerset is proud to be a local nonprofit agency that contributes to the great quality of life in somerset county and central jersey by creating healthier communities. The organization was formed in 1974 and has been providing life skills prevention education programs in the community for over 40 years. In 2010, empower somerset became the lead grantee for the seven-county central region of New Jersey's statewide school health program. The whole school, whole community, whole child (wscc) model is the driving force behind New Jersey's school health program, emphasizing that all children deserve to be healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged. Empower somerset is the managing agency of somerset county's pioneer family success center, established in 2012 as a community gathering place that connects families to helpful resources and brings families together through free events & local activities. Pioneer family success center hosts a monthly free family fun night at rotating locations throughout somerset county, providing families with the opportunity to enjoy quality time together. Empower somerset facilitates a wide variety of life skills educational programs each year, such as the school health initiative, strengthening families programs and programs for veterans and active duty military on health management, stress reduction and financial well-being. Empower somerset is a managing partner agency of the safe communities coalition, dedicated to eliminating drug use, underage drinking and prescription drug abuse in somerset county communities.

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 100% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.9%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 95%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $228.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 22nd 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: 3.3%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.6; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.9%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.8% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.9% of revenue deployed · 95% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $124K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.