New Jersey Shares Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223564398
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Flemington, NJ, USA
Phone
6098831478
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$14,597,315
Expenses
$15,236,267
Assets
$8,922,672
Liabilities
$7,995,571

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHERYL STOWELL (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHERYL STOWELL (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $376,595 total reported compensation
  • MONICA GRYBOWSKI (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $262,620 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER LAZOR (ASSISTANT DIRECTOR): $115,050 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide assistance to individuals and families in need of help in meeting their energy and utility burden through advocacy, community outreach, education, information and referral, and to connect low and moderate income households with available resources to meet their ongoing needs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Nj smart program - providing assistance grants to eligible New Jersey residents who are facing housing instability to help lessen the burden on limited income households. Nj shares smart utility assistance program - assisting income qualified New Jersey households who are in a temporary financial crisis and either do not qualify for federal or state utility assistance programs or have received benefits from these federal and state utility assistance programs and are still in need of electric and/or gas payment assistance.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 82% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 84% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.1%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 91.1%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: $46.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.4%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.9; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.1% of revenue deployed · 91.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $13.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $377K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.