Hospice Care Connection Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814209835
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018
Location
Machiasport, ME, USA
Phone
2072553750
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$411,997
Expenses
$420,546
Assets
$145,511
Liabilities
$3,397

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JODI NORTON (PRESIDENT, T)

Highest reported compensation

  • JODI NORTON (PRESIDENT, T): $159,250 total reported compensation
  • FLORENCE WOOD (VICE PRESIDE): $45,600 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

1. To prepare and distribute educational information about hospice and palliative care for chronically and terminally ill people including families and bereavement follow-up, to caregovers, professionals and the public at large; to plan, organize, produce and present seminars and lectures and other educational programs on hospice care and related topics to health professionals and to the public at large. 2. To promote the increase and exchange among all people involved in planning hospice care, palliative care and related services. 3. To encourage and assist in the initiation and continuation of competent hospice care, palliative care and related services. 4. To help people seeking information about the availability of hospice care, palliative care and related services by serving as a free resource center on such data. 5. To assist hospice and palliative care patients financially with non- medical needs.

What it reported doing in 2018

"hospiceconnection" a national, toll-free telephone information and referral service in all 50 states and the district of columbia, offering information about the principles and practices of good hospice and palliative care, general advice and answers to questions about caring for the dying and the bereaved, supportive listening to patients and family members facing far-advanced illness or bereavement, and assistance to health and caring professionals who have immediate need for information. Hospice connection support services include maintenance of a comprehensive, current database of hospice and palliative care services nationwide, an annual survey of hospice and palliative care programs nationawide to ensure that accurate data is available for referral purposes, and printed materials on frequently asked questions and other educational material to further educate the public about services offered. Hospice connections additional services include public education with printed materials distributed free to libraries, schools, colleges, churches, community support groups, healthcare institutions and individuals, assistance to individuals and civic groups working to improve care of the dying and the bereaved in their communities, and projects in cooperation with local organizations offering hospice and palliative care.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 61
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 22nd 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: Limited
  • 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: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -2.1%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 48.7%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -19.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5.7% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.6% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $336K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $159K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2017 to 2018
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.