The Center for Great Expectations Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223560158
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Somerset, NJ, USA
Phone
7322477014
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Family Services for Adolescent Parents

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,961,958
Expenses
$8,740,082
Assets
$11,344,461
Liabilities
$3,318,568

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PEG WRIGHT (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • PEG WRIGHT (PRESIDENT/CEO): $223,482 total reported compensation
  • DEBBIE HAROLDSEN (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & HR): $143,151 total reported compensation
  • FRANK PICONE (CHIEF TRAINING OFFICER): $134,708 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide a "safe place, safe presence, safe path" through a trauma-informed uncompromised continuum of care that assists women, adolescents and their children, and men, in addressing current substance use and/or mental health disorders.

What it reported doing in 2025

Outpatient program - the roots to recovery outpatient program is licensed both as a trauma-informed substance use/co-occurring outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment provider and as a community mental health service provider to cge clients and to women and men from the greater new brunswick area.supporting housing - supportive housing at harbor grove and the women's intensive supportive housing (wish) programs provide apartment homes and supportive case management services to mothers and their children. Training - the institute at cge is the prevention, consultation and training division of cge and the result of over 20 years' experience in substance use and mental health treatment and the development of the trauma c.a.r.e.(c) model. The institute creates attuned cultures and resilient communities in schools and for clinical teams, using a range of innovative approaches.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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

SUPPORTED - 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: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.5%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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; 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: 2.5%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.3; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.6%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.5% of revenue deployed · 81.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $223K · 27 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $230K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2012 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.