Serving Seniors

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
952850121
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
6192356572
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Senior Centers

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,427,170
Expenses
$17,304,317
Assets
$26,034,366
Liabilities
$3,429,036

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAUL DOWNEY (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • PAUL DOWNEY (President & CEO): $343,960 total reported compensation
  • MELINDA FORSTEY (COO): $217,526 total reported compensation
  • SUE SCHAFFNER (CFO): $181,889 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 impactful programs and services to older adults living in poverty. To provide seniors life sustaining services in a welcoming and supportive environment where they can get the help they need.

What it reported doing in 2024

HOUSINGServing Seniors provides robust senior housing programs that lift seniors out of homelessness and increase the stock of affordable senior housing in the region. The Transitional Housing Program helps homeless seniors get off the streets by providing transitional housing and supportive services as a direct stepping stone to permanentaffordable housing. Case managers help clients apply for entitlements, save and budget their money, access health and community services, provide life skills training, and make regular in-unit check-ins.Serving Seniors partnered with the City of San Diego to open Seniors Landing Bridge Shelter, a non congregate shelter that provides temporary housing to older adults transitioning out of homelessness and into permanent housing.Serving Seniors affiliate entities Senior Housing Corporation and City Heights Senior Housing Corporation own 529 units of affordable senior housing. Serving Seniors provides meals, social services and socialization opportunities to senior residents across these sites.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 68% 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

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: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.7%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 85.7%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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; 66th 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: 6.1%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.5; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.7% of revenue deployed · 85.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $14.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $344K · 22 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $876K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 15 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.