Safe Berks
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 232087191
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Reading, PA, USA
- Phone
- 6103707602
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Family Violence Shelters
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,172,440
- Expenses
- $4,626,640
- Assets
- $5,980,645
- Liabilities
- $1,044,970
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HEATHER ADAMS (PRESIDENT)
- RACHEL ROMIG (VICE PRESIDENT)
- ELIZABETH GARRIGAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- ELIZABETH GARRIGAN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $139,416 total reported compensation
- STACEY JORDAN (CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER): $90,118 total reported compensation
- MERELISS COLON ORTIZ (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER (END 11/24)): $79,765 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Safe berks provides a safe haven and support for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault through education, advocacy, and a relentless commitment to prevent abuse. We are dedicated to fostering an environment where individuals can be their true selves and feel empowered to stand up to all forms of oppression.
What it reported doing in 2024
The medical advocacy partnership program ("mapp") provides twenty-four hour response to our local healthcare facilities and hospitals. When a person presents to a healthcare facility or hospital as a patient and discloses, they have been a victim of interpersonal violence or sexual assault, the healthcare staff contacts our hotline for a mapp advocate to provide an in-person response. Upon meeting with the patient, the mapp advocate will assess the patient's needs, assist with safety planning, and connect them with other safe berks support services or appropriate community resources. In 2024-2025, the mapp advocates provided these services to 318 clients. In addition to the healthcare facility response, this department has 2 overnight rapid response advocates who provide support services to survivors at the berks county courthouse while filing a petition for an emergency protection from abuse order. In 2024/2025, the rapid response advocate provided these support services to 384 clients. Mapp advocates also provide educational trainings to healthcare providers and their staff members. Providing education to healthcare professionals is a large part of this department's mission as well as tabling wellness or other community events.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 67% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 30
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 78.9%; rating input score 79
- Program expense ratio: 70.7%; rating input score 71
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th 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: 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -10.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.29; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.8%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 78.9% of revenue deployed · 70.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $3.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $139K · 23 people listed
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.