St Francis Community Services

“The organization pays a management and bookkeeping fee to the archdiocese of st. Louis. Additionally, a management fee is paid to the st. Louis archdiocesan fund (slaf) for the management of the organization's investments.”

“Catholic charities of st. Louis is the member of st. Francis community services corporation (sfcs) and holds certain reserved powers, as stated in the sfcs bylaws. The archbishop of st. Louis is a member of catholic charities of st. Louis, and thus a member of the member of sfcs.”

“As a member with reserved powers over catholic charities of st. Louis, by which the archbishop of st. Louis also has reserved powers over the organization, the archbishop of st. Louis has the authority to appoint up to 50% of the board of directors and to approve all candidates to the board of directors of the organization.”

“As they are members with reserved powers, the bylaws reserve certain powers to the member (catholic charities of st. Louis) and the "member of the member" (archbishop of st. Louis). Additionally, the audit committee of the archdiocese of st. Louis is responsible for the selection of the independent auditor for all archdiocesan entities.”

“The form 990 is prepared by an independent accounting firm. The return is reviewed by management and any necessary revisons are made. A copy of the form 990 is sent to the members of the governing board prior to filing of the tax return.”

“When board members are recruited, they sign a disclosure form as part of the application process. Those approved for membership subsequently attend an orientation, during which the conflict of interest policy is explained in depth. In years thereafter, board members annually review the conflict of interest policy and sign a new disclosure form. Any disclosure requires follow-up to ensure that no conflict of interest actually exists or that steps are taken to resolve the conflict. No board member is allowed to continue his/her service if a conflict is unresolved. Key staff each year sign a disclosure form and go through the same review process.”

“In fy 2020, catholic charities of st. Louis launched a compensation analysis on behalf of all federation agencies. Salary ranges across the federation were updated; positions were placed within the ranges; and the current wages of all employees were reviewed. Sfcs added funds in its fy21 budget to upgrade the wages of employees whose salary did not meet the minimum of their range. The executive director's compensation was adjusted in fy21 as part of this process. Also, the executive director announced in march 2021 that she would retire by june 2022. A search committee was formed shortly thereafter and compensation was reviewed again in preparation for seeking candidates.”

“Governing documents, conflict of interest policies, and financial statements are available by written request to the executive director. Sfcs also provides these documents to funders as part of application and contracting processes; some are shared, by written request, to the public via these entities. Sfcs also posts its annual 990 form on its website (www.sfcsstl.org). Finally, governing documents are available online through the state of missouri's secretary of state website.”

“In august 2020, st. Francis community services launched the immigrant housing justice project. A full-time attorney and staff were hired to assist immigrants who fell behind on rent or mortgage payments due to the economic fallout of the covid-19 pandemic. Sfcs distributed $129,530 in financial aid by june 30, 2021, averting homelessness for 102 immigrant families.”

“St. Francis community services discontinued its disaster case management program in march 2021. Disaster services and staff transferred to catholic charities of st. Louis.”

“The audit committee of the archdiocese of st. Louis assumes responsibility for oversight of the audit of the financial statements and selection of an independent auditor.”