People First of Santa Cruz County

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
384102254
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2022
Location
Santa Cruz, CA, USA
Phone
3157197635
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Housing Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,562,430
Expenses
$5,037,031
Assets
$966,629
Liabilities
$265,675

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Evan Morrison (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Evan Morrison (Executive Director): $98,425 total reported compensation
  • Christina Tharp (Director of Accounting): $88,173 total reported compensation
  • Rebecca Cooper (Program Director): $74,424 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 ensure housing for all by uniting the community, forming partnerships, inspiring advocacy and providing service.

What it reported doing in 2024

People First SCC's outreach-based case management program assists individuals and families experiencing homelessness in pursuing permanent housing solutions and accessing essential community, health, and financial resources. Health Care Navigators work to bridge gaps in the traditional health care system by extending care coordination beyond hospitals into community settings. Case managers provide in-person support to help participants address social determinants of health, obtain and maintain housing, access recovery and stabilization resources, and avoid higher-cost levels of 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

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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 58
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.2%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 99.6%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: $277.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 0 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Limited
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.4%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.19; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.6%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 113.1% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 111.7% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 88.1% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.2% of revenue deployed · 99.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 0 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $98K · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $661K reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 44 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.