Better Business Bureau Report for
St. Leonard's Ministries

Better Business Bureau Report issued March 2012
Better Business Bureau Report expires March 2014


Does not meet one or more standards
This charity does not meet one or more of the 20 standards for Charity Accountability. Find out more...


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Charity Contact Information

Name: St. Leonard's Ministries
Address: 2100 W. Warren Blvd.
  Chicago, IL 60612
Phone: 312-738-1414
Web Address: http://www.slministries.org/
Also known as:none
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Better Business Bureau Comments

Formerly known as:none

Year, State Incorporated: 1954, Illinois
Affiliates: None
Stated Purpose: Believing individuals want to lead productive and whole lives, St. Leonard’s Ministries provides a setting in which men and women recently released from prison can achieve such a life. St. Leonard's provides an array of program services designed to assist them as they make the transition to successful, independent living. During their stay at St. Leonard’s House, Grace House and St. Andrew’s Court, residents are helped to reassess value systems, to reorder priorities and to develop socially and legally acceptable patterns of behavior.

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

St. Leonard's Ministries does not meet the following 5 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Standard 6: Board Policy on Effectiveness - Have a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization's performance and effectiveness and of determining future actions required to achieve its mission.

St. Leonard's Ministries does not meet this Standard because:

  • Its effectiveness assessment policy does not specify that this assessment will take place at least once every two years.

Standard 7: Board Approval of Written Report on Effectiveness - Submit to the organization's governing body, for its approval, a written report that outlines the results of the aforementioned performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions.

St. Leonard's Ministries does not meet this Standard because:

  • It did not produce a written report outlining the results of its most recent effectiveness assessment.

Standard 15: Misleading Appeals - Have solicitations and informational materials, distributed by any means, that are accurate, truthful and not misleading, both in whole and in part. Appeals that omit a clear description of program(s) for which contributions are sought will not meet this standard. A charity should also be able to substantiate that the timing and nature of its expenditures are in accordance with what is stated, expressed, or implied in the charity's solicitations.

St. Leonard's Ministries does not meet this Standard because:

  • In the past year, the organization stated that it had one or more appeals for support that did not contain a description of the organization's program service activities.

Standard 17: Web Site Disclosures - Include on any charity websites that solicit contributions, the same information that is recommended for annual reports, as well as the mailing address of the charity and electronic access to its most recent IRS Form 990.

St. Leonard's Ministries does not meet this Standard because the organization's website, http://www.slministries.org/, does not include all of the recommended information for those charity websites that solicit for donations. Specifically, it does not include:

  • Total income.
  • Total program expenses.
  • Total fund raising expenses.
  • Total administrative expenses.
  • End of year net assets.
  • Electronic access to the organization’s most recent IRS Form 990.

Standard 18: Privacy for Written Appeals & Internet Privacy - Address privacy concerns of donors by (a) providing in written appeals, at least annually, a means (e.g., such as a check off box) for both new and continuing donors to inform the charity if they do not want their name and address shared outside the organization, (b) providing a clear, prominent and easily accessible privacy policy on any of its websites that tells visitors (i) what information, if any, is being collected about them by the charity and how this information will be used, (ii) how to contact the charity to review personal information collected and request corrections, (iii) how to inform the charity (e.g., a check off box) that the visitor does not wish his/her personal information to be shared outside the organization, and (iv) what security measures the charity has in place to protect personal information.

St. Leonard's Ministries does not meet this Standard because the privacy policy on this website, http://www.slministries.org/ does not indicate:

  • What personal information is being collected and how it will be used.
  • How to inform the charity that the visitor does not want his/her information shared with others.
St. Leonard's Ministries meets the remaining 15 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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Programs

              

St. Leonard’s Ministries (SLM) is an umbrella agency that provides residential and supportive services to men and women exiting Illinois prisons. Originating in the mid 1950s though the support of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago and the vision of its founder, Father James Jones, the agency has gradually expanded to include the programs listed below: •St. Leonard’s House: interim housing and services for men •Grace House: interim housing and services for women •St. Andrew’s Court: housing and services for men who complete the St. Leonard’s House program •Michael Barlow Center: education and employment training programs

For the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011, St. Leonard's Ministries's program expenses were:

  
Program Expenses 1,992,564
Total Program Expenses: $1,992,564
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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Robert Dougherty, Executive Director
Compensation*:
$59,000

Chair of the Board: Peter Daane
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Attorney

Board Size: 28

Paid Staff Size: 65

*Compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.
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Fund Raising

              

Method(s) Used:

direct mail, invitations to fund raising events, grant proposals, internet
Fund raising costs were 10% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $620,241, are donations received as a result of fund raising activities.)
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Tax Status

              

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.
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Financial

              

The following information is based on St. Leonard's Ministries's audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011.

Source of Funds  
Fees and frans from governmental agencies 1,287,242
Foundation grants 389,052
Contributions and donations 208,985
Investment Income 118,370
Allocation from United way/crusade of Mercy, Inc 96,000
Other Income 59,145
special evets revenue 22,204
Total Income $2,180,998


chart



Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 82%  Fund Raising: 3%  Administrative: 15% 

Total income   $2,180,998
  Program expenses $1,992,564
  Fund raising expenses 63,116
  Administrative expenses 369,231
 
Total expenses   $2,424,911
Expenses in Excess of Income   (243,913)
Beginning net assets   6,022,574
Ending net assets   5,778,661
Total liabilities   301,957
Total assets   $6,080,618


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