BAYONNE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOUNDATION
A Step in the Right Direction
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
As the designated Community Action Agency for the City of Bayonne, NJ, Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation (BEOF) seeks to provide community services to Bayonne and Hudson County residents that respond to the social, economic, educational, and training needs of children, seniors, and other adults to enhance their ability to fulfill their potential for self-sufficiency.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Head Start
Head Start helps prepare young children to succeed in school. The program supports the mental, social, and emotional development of low-income and special needs children 3 to 5 years of age. Teachers and managers work closely with families to create an education plan tailored to each child’s unique characteristics and strengths. Educators are supported by a team of specialists, including a clinical psychologist, a nutrition consultant, and a speech and language pathologist.
Bayonne Head Start serves more than 150 children at three locations:
•21 West 8th Street (former City Hall Annex Building)
•557 Kennedy Boulevard
•7 West 9th Street
Meals on Wheels
The Meals on Wheels program is a public-private partnership that promotes health and improves quality of life for senior citizens. For those Bayonne seniors who cannot travel to our nutrition sites and who do not have the assistance of an agency or individual to prepare their meals, this program delivers a nutritious, hot lunch every weekday. Staff members and volunteers also provide companionship, as many program participants live alone. They also conduct a safety check during the visit to ensure the resident’s well-being.
The BEOF Meals on Wheels program currently provides meals to nearly 200 homebound seniors daily in Bayonne.
LIHEAP
BEOF offers energy assistance programs through funding by the state and federal governments, currently helping more than 2,000 Hudson County families lower their energy bills.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps low-income homeowners and tenants pay for heating costs, including bills for electricity, natural gas, oil, and fuel delivery. LIHEAP grants are also available for medically necessary cooling costs. Even tenants whose rent includes utilities may qualify for help. The LIHEAP program is seasonal and operates between October 1 and April 30.
The Universal Service Fund (USF), created by the N.J. Board of Public Utilities, helps low-income households pay for electric and natural gas costs. This program operates year-round.
In addition, households that do not meet the income guidelines for the above programs may qualify for other assistance through the TRUE/PAGE and NJ SHARES programs.
Housing Assistance
Through federal, state, and county funding, BEOF provides rental assistance and housing counseling to fight homelessness in Hudson County with our HPRP and HPP grants
The Home Prevention Program, Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program Grants provides temporary assistance to individuals and families who are living in the streets or in emergency shelters and to households in imminent risk of homelessness. Grant funds meet immediate monetary needs, such as rental assistance, utility deposits and payments, and moving costs. In addition, case managers help clients stabilize their housing situation by developing a personalized plan that includes job search and career advancement, while addressing the factors that contributed to the housing crisis.
The program also addresses chronic homelessness from both legal and social perspectives. BEOF ensures that clients do not experience discrimination for such impairments as mental illness, drug dependency, or physical disability. The staff helps potential landlords understand these impairments, which creates the willingness to assist with clients’ housing needs.
Senior Residential Maintenance
In addition to the Weatherization Assistance Program, BEOF offers free residential maintenance for senior homeowners and tenants in Bayonne. This service provides repairs that improve the health and safety of senior citizens and prevent deterioration of their primary home.
To participate, residents set up an appointment for a free home evaluation, and weatherization personnel come to their home and discuss available services, which include the following:
• Minor home repairs
• Replacement or installation of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors
• Window repair/caulking
• Weather-stripping of drafty windows and doors
• Shower chair installation or repair
• Hallway banister installation or repair
• Installation of security peepholes in doors
• Fire extinguisher installation or replacement
Weatherization
Funded by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the BEOF Weatherization Assistance Program helps low-income families in Bayonne reduce their energy bills through home maintenance that conserves energy. Qualifying families have a health and safety check performed on heating equipment. The BEOF Weatherization Crew—twice honored with the “Golden Hammer” award as the best in New Jersey—then performs maintenance to improve energy efficiency and make people comfortable in their homes, using only materials that meet both state and federal standards.
Weatherization services may include the following:
• Insulation installation or replacement
• Heating (boiler) replacement and repairs
• Hot water tank replacement and repairs
• Testing of stoves for carbon monoxide, gas leaks
• Refrigerator replacement
• Caulking/weather-stripping for windows and doors
• Indoor air quality testing
• Door replacement and repairs
• Carbon monoxide detectors
• Shower head replacement and repairs
• Installation of energy-saving light bulbs
Community Outreach
The Community Outreach program maintains contact with clients whom we have helped in a crisis. This ongoing support helps contribute to their long-term stability—the ultimate goal of BEOF.
People often come to BEOF with their most pressing needs, whether it’s a temporary financial crisis, imminent eviction, or something else. Many of these other needs are related to nutrition and immediate food supply, which the Community Outreach program supports through operation of a food pantry.
This program also provides temporary shelter funding on an emergency basis, working with BEOF’s Housing Assistance staff to help clients find permanent housing and housing stability.
Nutrition
This program provides a nutritious, hot lunch to senior citizens and others in need five days a week. BEOF currently operates two nutrition sites in Bayonne at the following locations:
• 535 Avenue A
• 16 West 4th Street
Our handicapped-accessible mini-bus offers free transportation to these locations, following two routes. Senior citizens who cannot travel to the nutrition sites may qualify for the Meals on Wheels program.
In addition, BEOF prepares hot meals to help those in need during the holiday season.
Senior & Handicapped Transportation
BEOF operates a handicapped-accessible mini-bus along two routes. The free service transports senior citizens and disabled individuals to nutrition sites and other locations, including shopping centers, within the City of Bayonne.
The routes run continuously every hour from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on weekdays.
Route 1
Pick-ups start at 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., and 2:00 p.m.
• 535 Avenue A
• Shop Rite
• Broadway at 24th Street
• Broadway at 22nd Street
• Constable Hook Gardens / 22nd Street Light Rail Station
• Bayonne Crossings South
• Bayonne Crossings North
• South Cove Commons Franks Theater
• 50th Street Seniors
• 56th Street Senior Center
• Jewish Community Center
Route 2
Pick-ups start at 10:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 3:00 p.m.
• 24 East 21st Street (10:00 a.m. only)
• 535 Avenue A
• Second Street Seniors
• 4th Street Senior Building
• 8th Street Light Rail Station
• Broadway at 8th Street
• Platty Kill Manor
• 22nd Street Light Rail Station
• Bayonne Crossings South
• Bayonne Crossings North
• South Cove Franks Theater
• Library
Cultural Affairs
Located just across the Hudson River from New York City, Hudson County has a similarly diverse population. BEOF offers a wide range of resources to assist community members in their native languages. Many of our materials are available in other languages, and we have several staff members and other resources who speak languages other than English.
For information or assistance in another language, please call the BEOF office at 201-437-7222. Friendly staff members will do their best to accommodate your needs.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of meals delivered
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Seniors
Related Program
Nutrition
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
BEOF’s Meals on Wheels Program distributes food to roughly 145 residents & our Senior Congregate Nutrition Sites serve approximately 60 seniors, Mon thru Fri. This totals about 53,300 meals, annually.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation (BEOF) provides opportunities and programs that aim to improve and stabilize the quality of life in the community it serves. BEOF assists impoverished individuals and families achieve economic security by helping them, as our motto says, take "a step in the right direction."
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation's (BEOF) philosophy is community action through the marshaling of citizens' participation and public and private funding. Although the organization's mission is to assist primarily low-income citizens, seniors and the handicapped, we pride ourselves on trying never to turn anyone away who feels they are in need. In addition to our many in-house services, we serve as a community hub for many state and federal initiatives. This vast network allows us to assist even those individuals who do not qualify for BEOF programs by providing guidance, information and referrals to any citizen of Bayonne who needs our assistance.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation (BEOF) partners with a host of other non-profit organizations such as HIGHWAYS, United Way, Table to Table, the Head Start Regional Office, and the American Red Cross. We also have an outstanding working relationship with the City of Bayonne and the Office on Aging division with the City. Lastly, we have collaborated efforts with New Jersey political figures such as Congressman Albio Sires. Furthermore, BEOF serves as a satellite location for WomenRising which is an agency specializing in domestic violence matters for women and Hudson County's welfare office for Bayonne residents.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since 1965 Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation has helped more than 73,000 residents of Bayonne and Hudson County. Through a combination of government funding and generous private contributions, we have provided meals and companionship, emergency and permanent shelter, and free transportation. We have helped prepare children in low-income households and those with special needs to succeed in school - and beyond. By providing temporary financial assistance and supportive counseling, we help individuals and families rise above financial crisis to achieve long-term stability. Our proven success has helped us secure additional funding and expanded our service area to Hudson County for specific programs while will continue to enhance our service offerings. BEOF has a major rehabilitation project presently underway that will allow the organization to consolidate its current programs under one roof at the location of the former Holy Family Academy in Bayonne, NJ. Holy Family Academy was a staple within the community since its founding in 1925 by the Sisters of St. Joseph. The property formerly functioned as a private, Roman Catholic college preparatory school, for young women located in Bayonne, New Jersey and the surrounding Hudson County area until it closed its doors in June 2013.
The City of Bayonne recently partnered with Bayonne Economic Opportunity Foundation to purchase the 77,000-square foot property which will serve as the new location for the entire BEOF organization. The property is comprised of two large buildings; the Convent building, located at 15-19 Howard Place, will serve as the new office headquarters for BEOF. The former school building on the property, located at 237-239 Avenue A, will serve as the new location for all BEOF Head Start facilities. This larger facility allows BEOF the capability to expand upon its existing programs and to impact a much larger scale of low-income children, seniors, and families alike within the city's borders.
The rehabilitation of the Holy Family Academy property to house BEOF's new headquarters will be a major improvement for the fast-paced agency. It will allow the organization to bring all of its programs under one roof, expand upon its existing programs, and introduce new services to the community, all of which will accommodate a larger clientele to better serve the community.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
BAYONNE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FOUNDATION
Board of directorsas of 06/28/2023
Mr. Anthony Timpanaro
Ms. Barbara Pelliccio
Kenneth Poesl
Michelle Byrd
Denise Dorans
Chester Banks
Henry Perez
Shaniqua Borders
Nalleli Willmore
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/26/2023GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.