MercyFirst
Meets Standards
Standards For Charity Accountability
Governance
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Board Oversight
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Board Size
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Board Meetings
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Board Compensation
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Conflict of Interest
Measuring Effectiveness
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Effectiveness Policy
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Effectiveness Report
Finances
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Program Expenses
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Fundraising Expenses
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Accumulating Funds
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Audit Report
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Detailed Expense Breakdown
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Accurate Expense Reporting
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Budget Plan
Fundraising & Info
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Truthful Materials
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Annual Report
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Website Disclosures
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Donor Privacy
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Cause Marketing Disclosures
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Complaints
MercyFirst meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
Stated Purpose:
MercyFirst, a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Mercy, inspires hope and promotes healing for children and families by providing quality human services and educational opportunities while advocating for social change.
Year, State Incorporated:
1967, NY
MercyFirst is a social services agency that has been serving children and families in need since 1894. Today, our agency continues to address the emotional and physical needs of children and families in New York City (Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island) and across Long Island in multiple program areas. These include:
1. Family Foster Care & Adoption: We provide foster care children with a safe and loving home that promotes growth and development, enabling children to reach their fullest potential. Our goal for each child is permanency via reunification with a birth parent or adoption with a foster parent.
2. Group Care: Group Care includes our Group Homes as well as other residential supports we provide for children with more complex needs. These residences provide family-like, community settings to help meet the needs of children in crisis when staying at home is not possible.
3. Teen Parent & Child Program: We provide foster care teens who are pregnant or parenting a stable place to live while they prepare for independence. These young parents in crisis and their babies receive the care and support they need to navigate pregnancy and their new role.
4. Family Support/Prevention Services: We provide community-based services that assist and support parents and other caregivers so that they develop the tools they need to raise their children in a safe and nurturing environment and prevent them from entering foster care.
5. Unaccompanied Refugee Minors: We provide short-term shelter to unaccompanied refugee children (minors who arrive in the US without a parent or guardian, and who are fleeing areas of extreme poverty, violence, sexual exploitation, drug-related gang activity, and human trafficking) until they are reunified with a sponsor family.
6. Integrated Health Services: Integrated Health blends medical care and related behavioral and mental health factors that affect the health and well-being of children and families with complex needs, such as having experienced poverty, abuse, and family stress in their homes and communities. The agency also provides Care Management to the children and families we serve as well as Medicaid eligible families in the community.
7. Bridges to the Future: Our Bridges to the Future program supports our foster care youth as they prepare for the future, by providing teens and young adults with skills and training to secure viable jobs; scholarship assistance to attend college or vocational school; financial assistance for housing; and life skills coaches to guide them during the challenging transition out of foster care into adulthood.
For the year ended June 30, 2022, MercyFirst's program expenses were:
| Immigrant youth program services | $10,792,640 |
| Family foster care and adoption services | $9,474,231 |
| Community-based group homes | $5,824,093 |
| Medical and mental health services | $5,514,654 |
| Residential Campus Programs | $4,741,238 |
| Family support programs | $3,069,735 |
| Total Program Expenses | $39,416,591 |
Chair of the Board
Mr. Brian Hecker, Partner
Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Crowe LLP
Board Size
14
Paid Staff Size
510
Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Invitations to fund raising events, Grant proposals, Appeals via Social Media (Facebook, etc.)
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.
The following information is based on MercyFirst's audited financial statements for the year ended June 30, 2022.
Source of Funds
| Immigrant youth program services | $10,956,437 |
| Family foster care and adoption services | $10,819,529 |
| Community-based group homes | $8,209,060 |
| Residential campus programs | $6,369,744 |
| Gain on Forgiveness of Paycheck Protection Program Loan | $5,913,396 |
| Medical and mental health services | $5,800,485 |
| Family support programs | $3,525,136 |
| Grants | $539,381 |
| Contributions | $338,537 |
| Special event revenues | $165,070 |
| Other income (losses) | $-8,023 |
| Direct expenses | $-62,460 |
| Total Income | $52,566,292 |
Programs: 84% Fundraising: 1% Administrative: 15%
| Total Income | $52,566,292 |
| Total expenses: | $47,010,861 |
| Program expenses | $39,416,591 |
| Fundraising expenses | $522,232 |
| Administrative expenses | $7,072,038 |
| Other expenses | $0 |
| Income in Excess of Expenses | $5,555,431 |
| Beginning Net Assets | $2,372,439 |
| Other Changes In Net Assets | $0 |
| Ending Net Assets | $7,927,870 |
| Total Liabilities | $16,293,112 |
| Total Assets | $24,220,982 |
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 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 International Association of Better Business Bureaus.
This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.
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Standards Not Met
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Review in Progress
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Report completed by:
BBB Foundation of Metropolitan New York