The Joy Bus

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463188719
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2014
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
6025955884
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Meals on Wheels

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,787,248
Expenses
$1,469,769
Assets
$3,664,940
Liabilities
$1,409,682

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNIFER CARAWAY (CEO FOUNDER)
  • BRUCE ST JAMES (PRESIDENT)
  • BUTCH RAPHAEL (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER CARAWAY (CEO FOUNDER): $100,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission is to relieve the daily struggles of homebound cancer patients with a fresh chef-inspired meal and a friendly face. Our vision is to elevate the livelihood of our patrons with the joy of culinary sustenance.

What it reported doing in 2024

The mission to support home-bound cancer patients with a home visit and chef-inspired meal continues. Our goal is to increase this support in varied ways, including cooking classes, a food pantry, and the ability to support more people in more places.

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 89% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.3%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 88.4%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd 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: 99.5%; rating input score 100; 49th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17.8%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.49; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.38; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.8%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.6% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 33.2% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.3% of revenue deployed · 88.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2015 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.