Merakey Foundation

What it reported doing in 2024

The merakey foundation is a fundraising entity with a mission to align donor generosity with merakey's commitment to whole person care throughout the united states. Since its founding in 1999, the merakey foundation has raised millions of dollars through grants, fundraising events, and private donations for merakey programs. The merakey foundation is grounded in merakey's purpose, vision and core values: our purpose: putting our heart and soul into exceptional care. Our vision: to be a nationally recognized provider of the highest quality health and human services. Our core values: compassion, diversity, integrity, safety, trust, and qualityhighlights of the foundation's year include: the merakey foundation raised $55,750 for merakey's parkside mobile unit at its annual leading the way gala in october 2024. These funds are restricted to the parkside mobile unit to support their work as they support those struggling with homelessness, substance use disorder, and other behavioral health challenges within the city of philadelphia.the foundation organized its annual toy drive to help offset the expenses of holiday giving for our foster care families. In fy25, some 200+ children in merakey's foster care received gifts and family experiences for the holidays. The foundation purchased gifts and experiences for the families in our programs worth $6,650. Additionally, the foundation organized amazon wish lists for donors to purchase toys and ship them directly to programs.the merakey foundation teamed up with pacifico auto group's driving away the cold program for its annual coat giveaway in philadelphia's kensington neighborhood. Over 200 coats were donated by pacifico and, with the support of the merakey foundation, were given to children in merakey's programs. The merakey foundation held its annual care kit drive, for which all donations go toward helping individuals in the communities we serve who are struggling with homelessness, mental health challenges, and substance use disorder. Care kits were assembled and hand-delivered by the dedicated staff in merakey's adult behavioral health division. Each kit includes hygiene and toiletry items, as well as information on how to get help. In fy25, $3,937 worth of items were distributed to those in need.in march 2025, the foundation hosted its bowling tournament. A company favorite, this event was held in 7 locations in 4 states. Participants included merakey consumers, direct support professionals, employees, and friends of the organization. The merakey foundation raised $18,890 for merakey's fresh start recovery beds at its annual golf classic in june 2025. These funds are restricted to fresh start recovery beds, a transitional housing program in the philadelphia area that provides men and women in addiction recovery with 6-months of supportive housing, therapy, and case management. In fy25, the merakey foundation provided a total of $317,528 in impact grant support to several projects within its 3 divisions: adult behavioral health, intellectual & development disabilities, and children & family services. The foundation's impact grants invest in transformative ideas and scalable solutions that support merakey's strategic initiatives. Abh impact grant recipients:- philadelphia, pa fresh start recovery beds to offer transitional housing for those in recovery- baton rouge, la transportation services to support the system of care build in Louisiana- philadelphia, pa restore the flower beds to enhance gardening therapy for residents at harmony house- warminster, pa social events for transition-aged adultsidd impact grant recipients:- portage, pa tickets and passes to local parks, museums, and a gym to promote community access, as well as supplies for a summer carnival- yuba city, ca outdoor glider benches to assist residents in achieving their socialization goals- san joaquin, ca sensory items to assist with music, physical, and recreational therapy and activity goals- orwigsburg, pa outdoor

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 31.6%; rating input score 32
• Program expense ratio: 33.7%; rating input score 34
• Fundraising efficiency: $1.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th 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: 94.5%; rating input score 95; 41st percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Fail
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 44%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 13.14; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -8.7% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings