Non-Profit Organizations Report
The unprecedented increase in the number of non-profit organizations over the past few decades has made understanding the functioning and operating of these non-profits paramount. In this particular case, we will explore three non-profit organizations, namely Burbank Temporary Aid Center, MEND Foodbank, and Union Station, focus on their portfolios, 990 forms and their general functioning and structure.
Burbank Temporary Aid Center is located in Burbank, California. The organization values mirror our goals of providing to groups focusing on hunger eradication due to their programs of availing groceries and meals to the homeless and needy. Burbank operates solely in Burbank due to limitations of the organization’s size. The organization is mid-sized with 76 volunteers, total revenues of 1,466, 543 and total expense 1,406,097. A donation of $1000 would go a long way in aiding their feeding programs, and I would comfortably offer them my donation. Also, the organization is independent of any religious or political affiliations making it less susceptible to external influence. According to the 990 form, the organization consists of volunteers with the only recorded paid employee, the Executive Director at $93,659 annually.
MEND Poverty Organization is located in Pacoima. The organization deals with many programs aimed at establishing self-reliance including, the MEND Emergency Foodbank. The organization mirror our value goals on giving to programs dedicated to hunger eradication as its biggest program is the MEND Emergency Foodbank which availed food to over 240,000 people in 2012. MEND was a large organization with 5000 volunteers and 14,285,917 and 14,070,812 total revenues and total expenses respectively in 2015. Giving the organization $1000 would aid in expanding their food program while also increasing their food pantries located all over California. MEND is not restricted locally and has expanded all over California supporting other charities through donations and the like. The organization is also immune to any political or religious affiliations making it less susceptible to external influences and providing to all. According to the 990 form, the organization failed to list any employee payments. In 2015, the organization had an overhead of 5.7%.
Located in Pasadena, Union Station Homeless Services is a non-profit organization with numerous charitable programs. Union Station’s focus is on housing and settlement although they to provide meals to the homeless. Therefore in our value goals of giving to the organization with a focus on hunger eradication, donating to Union Station would not fully support our goals. Union Station Homeless Services is a mid-sized organization with 3,600 volunteers as of 2016, and total revenue coupled with total expenses of 5,324,420 and 5,381,511 respectively as of 2014. In case needed, donating the $1000 to the organization would aid the organization to improve their programs including giving meals, adding to the 100,000 meals served in 2015-16. Although started in Pasadena, the organization has now expanded beyond its locality to provide services all over the San Gabriel Valley area. The organization is not susceptible to bias or external influence due to lack of any political or religious affiliations.
The argument against overhead myths as illustrated in the FAQ is warranted, the effectiveness of nonprofits should not be simply calculated by the extent of the overhead but rather on how the organization helps the community. The main argument underlined in this section is the importance of establishing other parameters that will measure the overall performance of nonprofits. The measures proposed by GuideStar including sharing data on performance, managing towards results, and educating funders on the real costs of the results will go a long way in alleviating this overhead myth.