United Way of Essex & West Hudson D/b/a United Way of Greater Newark

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
226069078
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Newark, NJ, USA
Phone
9736248300
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Federated Giving Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,682,600
Expenses
$3,006,443
Assets
$6,083,278
Liabilities
$308,303

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CATHERINE WILSON (PRESIDENT AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • CATHERINE WILSON (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $272,095 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

United way of greater newark exists to improve the lives of individuals, children and families within our footprint to strengthen the collective community. Through programs and service initiatives we address the root causes of community concerns with an emphasis on education, income, and health.vision - through our leadership and partnerships, residents in our 13 municipalities are empowered to create healthier lives with access to quality education and opportunities for economic advancement.

What it reported doing in 2024

United way of greater newark serves as a backbone agency guiding the newark asset building coalition (nabc). Together with our partners, we empower residents of greater newark to forge the pathway to financial stability by streamlining key financial services and programs, such as the voluntary income tax assistance program (vita), and by providing wrap-around opportunities for debt alleviation, wealth building and financial growth.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 66% for direct work, and 34% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.9%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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: 96.3%; rating input score 96; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: 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: -12.1%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.02; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.3% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.9% of revenue deployed · 80.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $272K · 14 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $185K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 8 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.