Project Paul

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223067740
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Keansburg, NJ, USA
Phone
7327874887
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Emergency Assistance

Reported finances

Revenue
$426,243
Expenses
$286,648
Assets
$602,250
Liabilities
$8,203

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SAL CORTALE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SAL CORTALE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $27,500 total reported compensation
  • KATHY WEST (CFO): $16,000 total reported compensation
  • BERNADETTE TRICOZZI (DIRECTOR): $6,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Food pantry/homelessness prevention

What it reported doing in 2025

Homelessness prevention. To assist in preventing homelessness by dispensing funds for utilities or rent. Approx. 150 families served

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 51
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.4%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 93.9%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $100.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 80%; rating input score 80; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 32.8%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.1; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.3%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -5.1% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.4% of revenue deployed · 93.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $269K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $28K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 26 current checks pass · 3 findings to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.