Middlesex County Bar Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
226539580
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New Brunswick, NJ, USA
Phone
7328283433
Rating
53
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$515,200
Expenses
$122,774
Assets
$3,313,596
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JONATHAN P COWLES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JENEE K CICCARELLI (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID SPEVACK (PRESIDENT-ELECT)
  • MARK ZABEL JR (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MICHAEL B ROBERTS (IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT)
  • DENNIS ALAN AUCIELLO (PAST PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • JONATHAN P COWLES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • JENEE K CICCARELLI (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID SPEVACK (PRESIDENT-ELECT)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The mcbf is a non-profit corporation organized for the benefit of and to carry out the charitable, scientific, literary and educational purposes of the middlesex county bar foundation and for other exclusively charitable, scientific, literary and educational purposes related to the profession of law and the administration of justice.

What it reported doing in 2024

Various grants and encumbered services

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 64% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 14
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 95
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 7.3%; rating input score 7
  • Program expense ratio: 28.7%; rating input score 29
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 76.2%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 26.99; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 7.3% of revenue deployed · 28.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $35K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 29 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 21 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 7/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.