The Palm Beach Police and Fire Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
830462654
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Palm Beach, FL, USA
Phone
5618208118
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,343,416
Expenses
$4,082,930
Assets
$24,912,426
Liabilities
$658,841

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • John F Scarpa (CEO & Chairman)
  • David S Mack (Vice President)
  • Michael Belisle (1st Vice President)
  • Rebecca Godwin (President & COO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Rebecca Godwin (President & COO): $198,786 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 PBPFF is a charitable organization that supports the Town of Palm Beach First Responders and the local community at large with education, equipment and advocacy; empowering peace of mind with the knowledge that their families and futures are safe and supported. The Foundation pursues this mission by actively engaging in initiatives and programs approved by the board of directors, including but not limited to: Scholarships for the education of children of police and fire personnel, supplemental equipment and training, emergency assistance to police and fire personnel in need, providing public safety training and education to the community at large, and by advocating for and promoting community wide support for the police and fire personnel of the Town of Palm Beach.

What it reported doing in 2024

Higher Education Scholarships - This program provides scholarships to qualified children of sworn officers, firefighters and civilian employees of the Palm Beach Police and Fire Rescue Departments. Over the past year, the Foundation awarded higher education scholarships to 23 qualified children, totaling $233,656. Emergency Financial Assistance - This program offers emergency financial assistance to officers and firefighters injured or disabled in the line of duty, or suffering from other personal emergencies or financial crisis.Police and Fire Rescue Dept Supplements - (continued on Schedule O) This program provides supplementary funding to the police and fire rescue departments for additional training, equipment and other unfunded needs, and grants to officers and firefighters to attend events or in times of need.Preston Bernick Retention Program - the Palm Beach Police & Fire Foundation makes an annual contribution to the Palm Beach First Responders Foundation to fund the Preston Bernick Retention plan, a qualified retirement plan built to encourage recruitment and retention for the Palm Beach Police and Fire Rescue Departments. Life Insurance Benefit for First Responders - the Foundation now provides the premium payments for term life insurance policies for all first responders and civilian employees of the police and fire rescue departments. The Foundation makes annual premium payments, so that the $500,000 death benefit for each individual would be tax free.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 83% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.6%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 77.3%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th 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: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 44.4%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.1; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.7% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 48.6% of revenue deployed · 77.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $199K · 19 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.