Simply the Basics
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 811369151
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
- Location
- Benicia, CA, USA
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Neighborhood Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $443,088
- Expenses
- $498,389
- Assets
- $172,486
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MEGHAN FREEBECK (President)
- ROBERT PERRY (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- MEGHAN FREEBECK (President): $104,638 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Simply the basics (the "corporation") is a California nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated to providing homeless individuals and those living in poverty with basic necessities to help them develop the tools to make significant life changes and lift themselves out of poverty. Under the "basic needs" approach to alleviating poverty, the core needs of any person, such as food, clothing, and shelter, must be satisfied in order for an individual to achieve self-actualization, sobriety and job security. The corporation seeks to refine this concept to incorporate the additional needs of health, hygiene and education. Accordingly, the corporation seeks to remove fundamental barriers to independence and success by providing basic necessities, and thus, giving people the opportunity not only to survive, but also thrive in their communities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Hygiene bank program: simply the basics has a goal to make hygiene more equitable and accessible for everyone. The purpose of the "hygiene bank" is to ensure individuals, families, and organizations serving individuals and families living with limited income or experiencing homelessness always have access to their most basic needs. As such, simply the basics provides ongoing hygiene supplies through a myriad of methods including direct to recipient care for sustained health and wellness. Hygiene and public health are intimately interwoven, and poor hygiene is an inevitable result of homelessness. Establishing proper hygiene is key to a sense of self and better health. Simply the basics provides basic hygiene to programs and people, thus building a healthier community and stronger homeless programs overall.
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.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 91
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 58
- Sustainability: 26
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 95.7%; rating input score 96
- Program expense ratio: 85.1%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $69.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 0 of 8 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: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -12.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 21%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 19.3% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.7% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 95.7% of revenue deployed · 85.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 0 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $424K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $105K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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: Operating margin scored 20/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.