Better Business Bureau Report for
Society of St. Vincent de Paul, District Council of Cincinnati

Better Business Bureau Report issued May 2010
Better Business Bureau Report expires May 2012


This BBB Accredited charity meets all 20 Standards for Charity Accountability and is a Seal Holder. Find out more...


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Charity Contact Information

Name: Society of St. Vincent de Paul, District Council of Cincinnati
Address: 1125 Bank Street
  Cincinnati, OH 45214
Phone: (513) 421-0602
(513) 421-2273
Web Address: www.svdpcincinnati.org
Also known as:St. Vincent de Paul, District Council of Cincinnati
St. Vincent de Paul Community Pharmacy
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Better Business Bureau Comments

Year, State Incorporated: 1926, Ohio
Affiliates: None
Stated Purpose: Answering Christ's call, we foster hope by providing spiritual, emotional, and material assistance on a person-to-person basis to the poor, lonely, and forgotten in our community.

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Evaluation Conclusions

              

Society of St. Vincent de Paul, District Council of Cincinnati (SVDP) meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
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BBB Accreditation

              

A BBB Accredited Charity since 02/25/2009.

BBB has determined that in addition to meeting BBB's 20 Standards for Charity Accountability, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, District Council of Cincinnati adheres to the BBB Code of Business Practices, which includes a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any complaints.  Charities that display the BBB Accredited Charity Seal pay a fee for review / monitoring and for support of BBB's services to the public. 

BBB accreditation does not mean that the charity's programs or services have been evaluated or endorsed by BBB or that BBB has made a determination as to the charity's competency in performing services.

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Programs

              

St. Vincent de Paul relies on school and community food drives, businesses, and private individuals to help supply the food needed to keep families from going hungry. The all-volunteer Edyth and Carl Linder Choice Food Pantry provides grocery supplements. Rather than providing a cooked meal, the pantry gives patrons the items needed to prepare and serve meals in their own homes. 

Operation Bootstrap is a job readiness program that helps chronically unemployed, including recent graduates of chemical abuse programs, to re-enter the job market. Operation Bootstrap through an intensive and holistic approach focuses on the whole person by providing physical education, nutrition classes, and in-depth career counseling. Following graduation from the program, social workers help place candidates in full-time jobs. 

The Neighborhood Ministries Program has conference members work in small volunteer groups (Parish Conferences), generally associated with Catholic parishes, to care for neighborhoods in need, regardless of race, creed, or background.  The charity has 56 Parish conferences that help people in need of assistance with the basic needs that include food, shelter, rent and utilities, clothing, transportation, and emotional comfort. 

St. Vincent de Paul has six thrift store locations throughout the Greater Cincinnati area and the stores provide low-cost and no-cost quality used furniture, household items, and clothing. For individuals who are on a fixed income or are low-income and cannot afford to shop at full-priced stores are given vouchers to allow them to “purchase” furniture, clothing, and household items from the stores at no charge. 

St. Vincent de Paul Charitable Pharmacy provides free medication and professional pharmaceutical care to help low-income individuals meet their most urgent prescriptive needs. Clients are screened to see if they are eligible to receive services. 

Crisis Services provides assistance to individuals who are facing emergencies receive help with rent, utilities, job training, food, and clothing to help them get back on their feet and into programs that can provide long-term solutions to their on-going problems.

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For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, SVDP's program expenses were:


Furniture, Clothing, and Other Goods 6,934,715
Assistance to Needy 1,186,929
Food Pantry 596,844
Total Program Expenses: $8,718,488

 

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Governance

              

Chief Executive : Ms. Elizabeth L. Carter, Executive Director
Compensation*:
$105,678

Chair of the Board: Ms. Sandy Brielmaier
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: Marketing Director, Esther Price Candies

Co-Chair of the Board : Mr. Bart Kohler

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation: President & CEO, The Hubert Company

Board Size: 15

Paid Staff Size: 139

*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 appeals, invitations to fundraising events, print advertisements, television appeals, radio appeals, grant proposals, Internet, planned giving arrangements, cause-related marketing
Fundraising costs were 4% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $7,472,725, are donations received as a result of fundraising activities.)
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Tax Status

              

This charity 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 SVDP's audited financial statements - combined for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008.

Source of Funds  
Contributions and Legal Bequests 4,409,845
Stores Sales 4,107,267
Donated Food and Other Goods 2,537,785
Donated Auto Sales 525,095
Other Revenue 52,375
Investment Loss -319,047
Reserve for Obsolescence on Donated Pharamaceutical Goods -1,060,676
Total Income $10,252,644


chart



Uses of Funds as a % of Total Expenses

Programs: 89%  Fund Raising: 3%  Administrative: 3%  Other Expenses: 5%

Total income   $10,252,644
  Program expenses $8,718,488
  Fund raising expenses 298,081
  Administrative expenses 287,280
  Other Expenses 453,128
Total expenses   $9,756,977
Income in Excess of Expenses   495,667
Beginning net assets   9,923,722
Ending net assets   10,419,389
Total liabilities   388,912
Total assets   $10,808,301


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Note About Financial Statements

              

The charity's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2008, include, on a combined basis, the financial statements of:  Society of St. Vincent de Paul, District Council of Cincinnati, St. Vincent de Paul Stores, and St. Vincent de Paul Community Pharmacy.

SVDP provides assistance to 56 neighborhood conferences in Greater Cincinnati.  These conferences elect their own officers, raise money through church collections and fundraising, and provide direct service to clients.  SVDP provides the conferences with training, fundraising, support materials, vouchers to SVDP stores, and other services.  The income and expenses of the conferences are not included in the financial information above.

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Parish Conferences (Volunteer Groups)

              

All Saints
Bellarmine Chapel, Xavier University
Annunciation
Assumption
Cathedral of St. Peter in Chains
Christ the King
Good Shepherd
Guardian Angels
Holy Family
Immaculate Heart of Mary
Little Flower
Nativity/Our Mother of Sorrows
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of the Rosary
Our Lady of the Sacred Heart
Our Lady of Victory
Our Lady of the Visitation
Resurrection
San Carols – St. Charles
St. Agnes
St. Aloysius Gonzaga
St. Ann
St. Antoninus
St. Bartholomew
St. Bernard, Taylor Creek
St. Bernard, Winton Place
St. Boniface
St. Catharine
St. Cecilia
St. Clare
St. Dominic
St. Gabriel
St. Gertrude/St. John Fisher
St. Ignatius
St. James of the Valley
St. James the Greater
St. Jerome
St. John the Baptist, Northgate
St. John the Baptist, Harrison
St. John the Evangelist, Deer Park
St. Joseph
St. Jude
St. Lawrence, Price Hill
St. Margaret Mary
St. Margaret of Cortona
St. Martin of Tours
St. Mary, Aurora St. Mary, Hyde Park
St. Matthias
St. Michael the Archangel
St. Plus Food Pantry
St. Saviour
St. Teresa of Avila
St. Vivian
St. William
Sts. Peter & Paul, Reading

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Additional Locations

              

Colerain Thrift Store
6900 Coverain Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45239
(513) 741-1641

Este Avenue Superstore
4530 Este Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45232
(513) 681-9838

Evendale Thrift Store
9864 Reading Road
Cincinnati, OH 45241
(513) 563-2949

Mason Thrift Store
1065 Reading Road
Mason, OH 45040
(513) 741-1641

Milford Thrift Store
813 Main Street
Milford, OH 45150
(513) 248-2664

Mt. Washington Thrift Store
2129 Beechmont Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45230
(513) 231-1239

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Complaints

              

When evaluating complaint information, please consider the charity's size and volume of business. The number of complaints filed against the charity may not be as important as the type of complaints and how the charity handled them.

BBB has processed a total of 2 complaints about this charity in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total 2 complaints closed in the last 36 months, 2 was closed in the last 12 months.

Complaints Concerned

    Customer Service Issues: 1

        Outcome of all complaints -

            Resolved: 1
 

    Refund or Exchange Issues: 1

        Outcome of the complaint -

            Resolved: 1

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An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.

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