Catholic Charities of Fairfield County

“Catholic charities of fairfield has one class of members comprised of individuals that hold designated offices within the catholic diocese of bridgeport. Per the organization's bylaws, the bishop of the diocese determines the maximum number of members, which shall never be less than six in number. The members of the corporation shall include those persons holding the office of bishop of the diocese, or in the event of a vacancy in the office of bishop, the administrator of the diocese, vicar general, the chancellor of the diocese and the president of the corporation, and such other individuals as may be appointed by the bishop of the diocese.”

“Per the organization's bylaws, the members have reserved the right to appoint all directors who shall serve on the board.”

“Members have the following reserved powers: 1. The purchase, sale or lease of real property. 2. The sale, gift or other disposition of capital assets of the corporation. 3. The sale, lease, exchange or other disposition of all, or substantially all, of the property of the corporation. 4. The appointment, removal and compensation of the directors and officers of the corporation. 5. The merger or consolidation of the corporation with any other nonstock corporation, religious corporation or other entity. 6. The approval of any transaction that would result in a change of the membership of the corporation. 7. The reorganization or conversion to a form of entity other than a religious nonstock corporation. 8. The dissolution of the corporation. 9. The amendment or repeal of these bylaws or the certificate of incorporation. 10. The approval of any voluntary filing or consent to any involuntary filing against the corporation under any bankruptcy or insolvency law, or a general assignment for the benefit of creditors, or the admission that the corporation cannot pay its debts as they become due. 11. The approval, termination or material and substantive modification of any program, charitable endeavor or similar initiative or activity of the corporation. 12. The determination whether any proposal or action of the board of directors, or any donation or grant or other disposition of donations received by the corporation, is in conformity with catholic doctrine, the laws, regulations and teachings of the roman catholic church and the diocese, including without limitation the provisions of the code of canon law, all as interpreted and decided by the bishop of the diocese.”

“Organization's process used to review form 990 the form 990 was prepared by an independent accounting firm in conjunction with the organization's finance department. A copy of the draft form 990 was circulated to the full board of directors in either paper or electronic form for discussion and comment. Each board member was provided ample opportunity to comment on the information contained in the 990 prior to its filing with the internal revenue service.”

“Enforcement of conflict of interest policy the catholic charities of fairfield county's conflict of interest policy and annual disclosure forms are distributed to all board members, officers and management staff on an annual basis. Each individual is required to sign and review the disclosure form and provide information about any relationships they may have with catholic charities of fairfield county, inc. Other employees, and/or vendors that conduct business with catholic charities of fairfield county. All submissions are reviewed by the board to determine if a conflict exists; when a conflict arises, the individuals affected are prohibited from participating in the decision-making process related to any transaction occurring with the conflicted organization.”

“Process for determining compensation catholic charities of fairfield county reviewed local compensation studies and periodically worked with an independent compensation consultant to analyze compensation levels within the organization's peer group. These results were reviewed by the board of directors for confirmation that the salaries for top management were appropriate. This information has been used for ongoing decision making and reviewed along with current salaries by the chairman and secretary of the board. There is a compensation committee of the board of directors. The organization last commissioned a compensation study in october 2023 to ensure that its executive are paid reasonable wages compared to its peer institutions in the market in which it operates.”

“The organization's financial statements are available on its website. The governing documents and conflict of interest policy are not ordinarily made available to the public, but, if requested, will be provided at management's discretion.”

“The family loan program assists working parents in obtaining loans to prevent the loss of employment. The family loan program is structured as a revolving loan pool providing loans which can only be used for the purchase of a used car for transportation to and from work, car repairs, or the security deposit for an apartment in the greater danbury area. During 2021, the family loan program expanded its service area to also include lower fairfield county. All loans have an interest rate ranging between 5.00 and 6.99% (regardless of credit score) and are funded from a pool of funds donated by local banks.”