Where Does $100 to the Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope Go?

The Cancer Alliance of Help and Hope (CAHH) is a 501 (c)(3) established in 2003 in Palm Beach County to primarily provide emergency financial assistance to help cancer patients and their families.  They basically help people meet basic non-medical needs, such as rent, mortgage, and/or car payments, car insurance, health insurance, and utilities (in an amount of up $10,000 per family).

Modeled after a non-profit established in Naples, Florida, CAHH has been a relatively small (and still is) organization that brought in a new Executive Director (Stanton Collemer) in 2016 to grow the organization. Operating out of an office in Palm Beach, the organization appears to be focused on raising funds in a town known for its fundraising and charity support.

The organization’s primary fundraiser is the “Shop The Day Away Luncheon®” which featured Brooke Shields in 2017, Laura Bush in 2018, and will have Mario Lopez in 2019 at the event at the Breakers Hotel on February 28, 2019. In 2017, the luncheon raised $163,000 but the organization spent $244,000, posting a loss of $90,000. This loss appears to be related to the event costs (i.e. facility costs, food and beverage, prizes, and entertainment costs).

The IRS Form 990 (2016) for the year ending June 30, 2017 reports the following information:

Although there were no reported employees, there appears to have been two including the Executive Director (who was compensated $99,122) who collectively received total compensation of $167,538.

CAHH raised $670,000 in 2017, more than three times as much as the prior year (when $206,000 was raised).

Expenses were $407,000 which were used as follows:

• $179,000 (27% of revenue):  Grants
• $167,000 (25% of revenue):  Compensation
• $ 61,000 (9% of revenue):  Office-related Expenses/Fees for Services

Using the above information, a $100 donation was spent as follows:

$100:  Revenue

-$ 25:  Compensation

-$  9:  Office-related Expenses

-$ 34:  Subtotal Overhead Expenses

$ 66:  Amount Remaining

-$ 27:  Grants

$ 39:  To Net Fund Assets (think savings account)

As illustrated above, CAHH spent $34 of every $100 on compensation and office-related overhead costs and gave out $27 out of every $100 in grants. The organization retained $39 out of every $100 received in the net fund balance which had grown from $321,000 at the beginning of the year to $582,000 at year-end. The organization is clearly focused on raising the endowment of the organization (they saved more donations than they gave out in grants).

To read and review the IRS Form 990 (2016) for the year ending June 30, 2017, click here.