YWCA Northern New Jersey

“As part of the organization's federal form 990 tax return process the organization hired a certified public accounting ("cpa") firm with experience in not-for-profit tax return preparation to prepare the federal form 990. The cpa firm's tax professionals worked closely with the organization's president/ceo, finance personnel, and various other individuals ("internal working group") to obtain the information needed in order to prepare a complete and accurate tax return. The cpa firm prepared a draft federal form 990 and furnished it to the organization's internal working group for their review. The internal working group reviewed the draft form 990 and discussed questions and comments with the cpa firm. Revisions were made to the draft form 990 where necessary and a final draft was furnished by the cpa firm to the internal working group for final review and approval.”

“The organization's conflict of interest policy governs conflict of interest disclosure and monitoring of all voting members of the organization's board of directors. The organization regularly monitors and enforces compliance with its conflict of interest policy. Annually all directors are required to review the existing conflict of interest policy. All directors are required to sign a disclosure that states that if a potential conflict of interest exists which might influence or appear to influence judgement or actions, then the director is required to disclose the potential conflict to the board president. Any disclosures by directors are reviewed and any potential conflicts are thereafter discussed with the organization's president/ceo and governing body.”

“The organization's board of directors reviews and approves the compensation and benefits of the organization's president/ceo. The actions taken by the board of directors enable the organization to receive the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness for purposes of internal revenue code section 4958 with respect to the total compensation of certain individuals disclosed on this form 990. The three factors which must be satisfied in order to receive the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness are the following: 1) the compensation arrangement is approved in advance by an "authorized body" of the applicable tax-exempt organization which is composed entirely of individuals who do not have a "conflict of interest" with respect to the compensation arrangement; 2) the authorized body obtained and relied upon "appropriate date as to comparability" prior to making its determination; and 3) the authorized body "adequately documented the basis for its determination" concurrently with making that determination. Individuals of the board of directors are independent and free from any conflicts of interest. The board of directors adequately documented its basis for its determination through the timely preparation of written minutes during which the president/ceo's compensation and benefits were reviewed and subsequently approved. The actions outlined above with respect to the board of directors and the establishment of the rebuttable presumption of reasonableness applies to the organization's president/ceo. The compensation and benefits of other individuals disclosed in this form 990 are reviewed on an annual basis by the president/ceo with assistance from the human resources department in conjunction with the individual's job performance during the year and is based upon other objective factors designed to ensure that reasonable and fair market value compensation is paid by the organization. The annual budget, which includes annual compensation for officers and other employed individuals within the organization, is reviewed annually by the organization's audit committee and thereafter approved by the organization's board of directors.”

“The organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are available to the public upon request.”

“Contracts: program service expenses 594,007. Management and general expenses 13,010. Fundraising expenses 100,843. Total expenses 707,860. Payroll fees: program service expenses 67,989. Management and general expenses 670. Fundraising expenses 374. Total expenses 69,033.”

“An independent certified public accounting ("cpa") firm audited the organization's financial statements for the year ended june 30, 2024. The organization's audit committee has assumed the responsibility for the oversight of the audit of the financial statements and the selection of an independent auditor.”

“The process has not changed from the prior year.”