Project Ezrah Needs Inc.

“The executive director reviews the form 990. A draft of the form 990 is distributed to all board members via email or at a board meeting. If there are any comments or concerns they are to be addressed by the executive director, who shall then consult with the trustees on resolution of such comments or concerns.”

“The conflict of interest policy is regularly circulated, conspicuously posted and all prospective candidates are cleared for compliance. Members of the board or committee and officers must disclose their relationship to any director, principal officer, or member of a committee with governing board delegated powers, who has a direct or indirect financial interest. At each meeting if a member feels they have a conflict with the agenda the member must abstain from voting.”

“The compensation committee meets yearly and decides the appropriate compensation for the executive director based on the the salaries of executive directors of similar organizations. Once approved by the compensation committee it reports to the executive board. Total compensation and budget are approved and ratified by the board. This process was last conducted in 2014.”

“Policies are private internal policies and are not made available to the general public, but are available to contributors upon request. Financial statements are available upon request. Governing documents are available upon request.”

“Project ezrah needs, inc. (project ezrah) founded in 2005, utilizing a specifically developed multi-faceted program, guides and assists each client family in creating a lifestyle that enables them to be financially and emotionally self-sufficient as well as productive members of their community. There are many avenues that are traversed to reach these specific goals; therefore, a project ezrah guide stands by and assists throughout the process and continues to work with and mentor the family until the identified goals have been reached. Case workers, financial counselors and employment counselors create individualized programs for client families based on specific needs and objectives. They then help clients navigate the morass of financial devastation toward financial solvency, learn fiscal responsibility and appropriate financial management and budgeting skills, build up self-esteem, mend and re-build matrimonial relations, discover hidden obstacles to their success and secure appropriate and meaningful employment. Incorporated into the program are various paths which may include: personal job search strategies, career counseling and support for job placement, fiscal planning, budget management training and financial assistance for critical living expenses and food, yearly school supplies for client's children, and health and mental health care intervention. Project ezrah has also designed a module specifically developed to help client families better differentiate between necessary and discretionary expenditures: counselors review, analyze and then, using the family's income, make the appropriate disbursement for payment of bills. Though the process is extremely detailed and time consuming, it has proven to be extremely beneficial to the client families' understanding and utilization of appropriate financial management and budgeting techniques and has accounted for over $1.5 million of client funds administered by project ezrah during the year ended december 31, 2015. Within all programs and options, clients are encouraged to reach out to and sustain an on-going dialogue with their project ezrah liaison and, therefore, interaction between client and case workers/staff is never limited to the pre-determined weekly meetings. Professionals and staff members, each one working in unison toward the family's ultimate goal but, at the same time concentrating on specific areas, dedicate numerous hours to each family as they work through the program toward a sustainable lifestyle.”

“Project ezrah administers two programs within this category: managed salary and as-need. Preparations for a client family begin even before the client is accepted into the financial support program: hours of analysis of required financial documents, review and verification of financial need, evaluation of probable compliance to the program's principles and creating a unique-to-that-family path toward success. An extended initial meeting acquaints the new client family with the program, sets the family's goals, outlines their individual course of action and reviews in detail the family's financial assistance package. The first month of a family's program involvement usually requires extended interaction hours so that both spouses, and even children when appropriate, are fully comfortable with and possess an understanding of the program. Throughout the course of a family's program, case workers, mental health professionals and health care professionals work in areas as needed, when needed. Additionally, staff members are available to assist clients with bookkeeping, financial planning, finding appropriate and meaningful employment, computer-training, school supplies before the beginning of each year as well as planning appropriate simchas. The managed salary program assists client families with critical living expenses, medical bills, approved invoices as well as a cash allowance for food and weekly incidentals. In 2015, managed salary program assisted 41 families; by year's end, approximately 22% of these families was able either to graduate out of the program or, with minimal assistance from project ezrah, manage on their own. The as-need program works with families who have graduated out of the managed salary program and now need only minimal project ezrah assistance as well as those families who look to project ezrah for pre-approved, singular needs assistance. There were 24 additional families who received this type of financial aid in 2015; approximately 46% of these families were able to graduate out of the program by year's end (the 2015 managed-salary graduated families are not included in the 2015 as-need families' percentage data).”

“Project ezrah's employment department connects candidates with appropriate employment opportunities. Toward that goal, candidates work directly with counselors who assess their employment goals and search methods. After a specific in-take process, an initial meeting allows counselors to assess a candidate's job readiness and make suggestions for targeted area improvements; resumes are reviewed and revised, interview skills are evaluated, job-search strategies are analyzed and appropriate goals are set. In 2015, the employment team worked directly with 380 in-house candidates and was instrumental in placing 144 candidates (38%) in meaningful and appropriate employment positions. Additional and complimentary services have been implemented to augment the job-search experience: (1) an interactive job board, hosted 2188 candidates and listed over 390 employment opportunities in 2015. The job board's administrator contacts job board candidates to review their individual postings and resumes and, whenever possible, connects these candidates with potential employers. Toward that end, he spends many hours cultivating potential employers in order to develop a broader spectrum of available employment opportunities for the project ezrah client. (2) a linkedin group promotes networking. Approximately 1,100 candidates and community members use this format to expand each candidate's own network of contacts and answer appropriate industry-specific questions. (3) seminars are held to assist, encourage, enlighten and broaden a candidate's knowledge in a variety of subjects. 2015's seminars were: linkedin seminar, create a job specific cover letter, networking breakfast, coupon craze, create your future-oriented resume”

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