Duluth Bethel Society

“Stephanie Balmer and James Balmer have a family relationship.”

“The tax return is presented to the Board's Finance Subcommittee for review. The return is then presented at the next board meeting for consideration of board for approval and with recommendation from the finance committee. After board approval, the return is filed.”

“Procedures: A. Disclosure: Any conflicts or duality of interests shall be disclosed to the president if by a board member/director or the executive director and if by a person employed by the corporation to the executive director. Conflicts of employment or affiliation shall be disclosed before accepting positions. Any disclosures of conflicts or duality of interests shall be brought to the attention of the board or a duly constituted committee of the board. B. Determining if a conflict exists: The board or a duly constituted committee thereof shall determine whether a conflict exists and in the case of an existing conflict, whether the contemplated transaction may be authorized as just, fair, and reasonable to the corporation. The decision of the board or a duly constituted committee thereof on these matters will rest in their sole discretion, and their concern must be the welfare of the corporation and the advancement of its purpose. C. Conflict Exists: If a determination is made that a conflict exists, transactions with parties with whom a conflicting interest exists may be undertaken only if all of the following are observed: (i) the conflicting interest is fully disclosed, including the material facts (ii) the person with the conflict of interest is excluded from the discussion and approval or disapproval (voting) of such transaction (iii) a competitive bid or comparable valuation exists and (iv) the board or a duly constituted committee thereof has determined that the transaction is in the best interest of the organization, is fair and reasonable, and the transaction is approved in good faith by two thirds of the directors or members of the committee entitled to vote, not counting any vote that the person with the conflict of interest might otherwise have. d. failure to disclose an actual or possible conflict of interest: (i) if the board or executive director has reason to believe a member has failed to disclose actual or possible conflicts of interest, it shall inform the member of the basis for such belief and provide the opportunity to explain the failure to disclose. (ii) If, after hearing the person's response and performing any necessary additional investigation, the board or executive director determines that there was a failure to disclose and actual or potential conflict of interest, it shall take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action if necessary. Annual statements: each director, principal officer, and member of a committee with governing board delegated power shall annually sign a statement which affirms such person: a. has received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy, b. has read and understands the policy, c. has agreed to comply with the policy, and d. understands the corporation is charitable and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its taxexempt purposes.”

“Each program director has an annual review completed by the executive director which rates the level of performance for each area of their job description. the executive director is reviewed by the board of directors which rates the level of performance based on each area of the executive director's job description or subsequent board approved tool. The Organization uses the Minnesota nonprofit salary and benefit survey to determine whether compensation is reasonable. Board consensus is a benchmark tool.”

“The governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are available upon request for the same period of disclosure as set forth in section 6104(D)”

“Duluth Bethel has undergone several changes since April of 2024. The executive director retired after 11 years, and the long-term program director was named interim executive director. This was at a time that the organization was operating at a significant cash deficit for several years. At that same time, there was turn over in the accounting staff which led to delays and in complete financial reporting. Internal reviews discovered that there were additional funds available when treatment clients would not meet the required hours for the recommended level of care. The treatment program was understaffed and unable to take in the referrals that would generate levels of income seen prior to the pandemic. Since April of 2024, focus has been brought to client care and program involvement, a position was revamped to provide a client care position which has turned around the client engagement in attending the groups as the level of care recommends as well as some additional inhouse modalities that have increased client engagement. Duluth Bethel has added an additional revenue stream to the Bethel Out Patient Program which did not get fully running until September of 2024. This contract is to provide outpatient treatment services to the clients held at the Northeast Regional Correctional Center for men. Also, since April 2024, Duluth Bethel has brought in an accountant to get the financial statements up to date. At the same time, they have brought in a consultant to assist in cash flow planning and forecasting. In order to maintain the stability in the finance roles, Duluth Bethel is planning for implementation of software and system upgrades to create more sustainable financial systems. There is weekly communication across all levels in the agency regarding cash flow, billing, levels of care, expenses, client census and agency morale. Duluth Bethel's board and the new executive director have undertaken a dire situation and have put a plan in place to turn the organization around seeing improvements in cash flow as of September 2024.”