United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
526016589
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Salisbury, MD, USA
Phone
4107425143
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Federated Giving Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,730,207
Expenses
$1,719,084
Assets
$1,571,493
Liabilities
$573,858

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARY MENGASON (EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT)
  • PAMELA R GREGORY (PRESIDENT/CEO (NONVOTING))

Highest reported compensation

  • PAMELA R GREGORY (PRESIDENT/CEO (NONVOTING)): $110,199 total reported compensation
  • STEVEN FULKROD (FINANCE MANAGER/RESIDENT AGENT (NONVOTING)): $96,927 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Connecting community members in dorchester, somerset, wicomico and worcester counties with direct and partner resources to strengthen health, education and financial security so all neighbors can thrive.

What it reported doing in 2024

United way of the lower eastern shore also provides direct programs and is active in numerous community collaborations, including for 2024-25: the imagination library literacy program for birth-five, including the smartstart collaboration with the local health system to encourage newborn enrollments, collegiate student united way club, wellness made easy health literacy program, read to succeed and read with me reading programs for pre-k through 3rd grade students, ride united transportation assistance pilot program, women united and emerging leaders affinity/volunteer groups, holiday outreach programs, addiction awareness youth art competition, Maryland alice report, data tools and facilitated simulations, nonprofit training and support and information and referral services.united way of the lower eastern shore also operates the get connected volunteer center, as the designated volunteer center for the lower shore of Maryland, to connect all community members with opportunities to volunteer with about 200 local nonprofits across the region, providing free access to everyone to manage and track volunteer impact. United way of the lower eastern shore is involved in significant community outreach and engages in numerous community and regional partnerships and collaborations to elevate awareness and opportunities to help neighbors in need. United way of the lower eastern shore is involved in significant community outreach and engages in numerous community and regional partnerships, collaborations and advocacy groups to elevate public awareness and support the nonprofit sector. Examples include the annual lower shore nonprofit summit to provide affordable and accessible professional development for nonprofit leaders and staff, and board leadership and facilitation for the emergency food and shelter program to ensure federal funds are distributed timely and equitably to lower shore nonprofits serving neighbors facing food and housing insecurity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 56% for direct work, 43% for grants, and 1% for affiliated organizations.
  • 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.2%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 75.8%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99%; rating input score 99; 48th 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: 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: 0.6%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.91; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.37; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.2% of revenue deployed · 75.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 37 of 38 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 28 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 26 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.