South Shore Community Action Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 046125732
IRS 990 coverage: 2011–2024
Forms available: Form 990 2024
Location: Plymouth, MA, USA
Phone: 5087477575
Rating: 88
Verdict: STRONG
Rating confidence: Moderate
Sector: Community, Neighborhood Development

Reported finances

Revenue: $33,835,221
Expenses: $31,769,189
Assets: $18,609,947
Liabilities: $8,091,725

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

DAN SHANNON (PRESIDENT)
LINCOLN HEINEMAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
LISA SPENCER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER TH)

Highest reported compensation

LISA SPENCER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER TH): $248,964 total reported compensation
CHERYL WHITE (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $226,755 total reported compensation
STEPHEN SALWAK (TRANSPORTATION DIRECTOR): $191,190 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

South shore community action council works to eliminate poverty on the south shore by coordinating, strengthening, and supplementing community efforts to empower individuals and families so they can live in decency and with dignity, realize their full potential, and participate to the extent of their capabilities in all that our communities have to offer.

What it reported doing in 2024

Energy program: the energy and utility assistance consists of three programs: liheap - fuel assistance program which provides eligible low income households with help in paying winter heating bills through payments to primary heat source vendors; heartwap - provides heating system repair and replacement services to fuel assistance program eligible homeowners primarily on an emergency basis; weatherization - assists low income households in reducing their heating bills by providing home energy efficiency services.

Operating model

Revenue model: Grant-funded. 78% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model: Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 66% for direct work, and 34% for grants.

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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 89
Transparency & Controls: 83
Accountability: 100
Sustainability: 44
Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 87.3%; rating input score 87
Program expense ratio: 92.9%; rating input score 93
Fundraising efficiency: $256.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
Foreign activity oversight: Limited
Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
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: 0.59; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 3.6%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

Where the money goes: 87.3% of revenue deployed · 92.9% of spending went to programs
Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 8 filed program accomplishments · $29.5M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $249K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.9M reported
Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.