Fresh Start Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
854020237
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Southfield, MI, USA
Phone
2483769225
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Judaism
Affiliation
Judaism

Reported finances

Revenue
$722,249
Expenses
$825,861
Assets
$228,898
Liabilities
$653,934

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • YOCHANNON POLTER (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • TOVA KORN (DIRECTOR): $135,566 total reported compensation
  • TZADOK ELIYAHU (SECRETARY-TR): $26,019 total reported compensation
  • YOCHANNON POLTER (PRESIDENT): $17,525 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

As a religious organization, the purpose of the organization is to help members of the orthodox jewish community in Michigan and elsewhere to overcome emotional and mental health struggles, originating from unresolved childhood issues, trauma, abuse and other issues. The orthodox jewish community is insular and culturally unique and as such requires a unique approach in dealing with mental health related struggles.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our program is the actual provision to those suffering from mental health issues. The goal is to deliver a wide variety of services to support individuals and families impacted by mental health struggles. This includes retreats, parenting workshops and referral networks to mental health professionals. The flagship program is called the fresh start retreat. It is an intensive 7 day retreat designed for men and women who want to understand, process and heal from unresolved trauma, neglect and abuse. This is a program that does not prescribe medicine.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 60% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 11
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 65.1%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 56.9%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 62.6%; rating input score 63; 31st 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: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -14.3%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.86; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.2%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.7% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 65.1% of revenue deployed · 56.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $470K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $136K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.