Pennsylvania Prison Society
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 231352267
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Phone
- 2155644775
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Administration of Justice, Courts
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,450,797
- Expenses
- $2,368,496
- Assets
- $6,149,818
- Liabilities
- $454,332
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
21 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SIMEON POLES (PRESIDENT)
- RENEE CARDWELL HUGHES (VICE PRESIDENT)
- CLAIRE SHUBIK-RICHARDS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- CLAIRE SHUBIK-RICHARDS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $155,293 total reported compensation
- NOAH BARTH (PRISON MONITORING DIRECTOR): $109,764 total reported compensation
- KIRSTIN CORNNELL (FAMILY & COMMUNITY SUPPORT DIRECTOR): $109,479 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of the Pennsylvania prison society is to protect the health, safety, and dignity of incarcerated people in Pennsylvania.
What it reported doing in 2024
Family and community support: the society provides a continuum of support to incarcerated people, from their time in prison through their return to the community by managing our helpline and providing mentoring and parenting classes. Their mentoring program is designed to help ease the transition from incarceration back to communities, by fostering positive social engagement and positive relationships, not only to help people stay out of prison but to improve their wellbeing. For decades, the society has been helping incarcerated parents, both to parent from behind bars and to prepare for reunification with their families. The society also piloted a transportation program to facilitate family visits to regional jails and prisons in order to connect families to their incarcerated loved ones.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 62% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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 - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 58
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 70
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 51.2%; rating input score 51
- Program expense ratio: 72%; rating input score 72
- Fundraising efficiency: $17.16 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- 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: 31.4%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.6; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.8%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 51.2% of revenue deployed · 72% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $155K · 21 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 51/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.