THE FEDERATED CHARITIES CORPORATION OF FREDERICK
We are a safety net for the safety nets in our community
THE FEDERATED CHARITIES CORPORATION OF FREDERICK
EIN: 52-0608003
Mission
For more than 100 years, The Federated Charities Corporation of Frederick has provided compassionate community services in Frederick, MD and offers education and resources which support nonprofit organizations in a collaborative environment so they can better serve their local clients. Over the years, we have offered direct services like food, medical, housing and other assistance and we have also used our physical space to support the efforts of countless local organizations as they pursue their own social service missions.
Ruling year
1994
Executive Director
Ms. Elin Elizabeth Ross
Main address
22 South Market Street Suite 1
Frederick, MD 21701 USA
EIN
52-0608003
Foundations
Population served
Adults
Women and girls
Families
NTEE code
Private Operating Foundations (T23)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Private Operating Foundation
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990-PF.
Tax forms
Communication
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download annual reportsWhat we aim to solve
It costs money to do good in the community. Nonprofits have to allocate revenue on the same kinds of overhead costs as traditional for profit organizations, like rent, office expenses, salaries and benefits for employees and supplies. Since 1911, Federated Charities has existed to support the nonprofit community in Frederick. In addition to our compassionate community services, we use our bricks and mortar building to offer reduced cost and free office space to 501(c)(3) organizations so they can spend more of their own resources on mission-based services. We provide opportunities for professional development for nonprofit staff, volunteers and board members and we also offer functional services (such as fiscal sponsorship and shared back office equipment and membership support) to our tenant-partners and other organizations in the community. Because of our work, more than $250,000 per year goes back into the community as direct services to individuals and families
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Lloyd and Charlotte Hoover Charity Incubator
The Lloyd and Charlotte Hoover Charity Incubator (a collaborative co-work workspace) to support the efforts of a network of emerging programs that support the well-being of residents of Frederick, MD and provide services to needy individuals and families. The Hoover Incubator is intended to support and provide innovative and collaborative partnerships in shared space for emerging charitable organizations. Federated Charities has long known and promoted the value of collaborative space and believes that when nonprofits can save on overhead costs, they have more resources to use for the programs and services that directly impact individuals and local communities. Tenancy in the Hoover Incubator or in a traditional 12-month lease with Federated Charities brings added value to partner programs and clients by sharing unique expertise, collaboration and maximization of resources. Federated Charities provides a visible space in the heart of downtown Frederick where organizations and the community can support these programs and their clients.
Federated Charities Tenant-Partners
We provide bricks and mortar support to as many as 15 nonprofit organizations who use our building for their office space under traditional single or multi-year leases. We also offer a variety of shared resources such as reduced cost office supply purchases, a 15-seat conference room, small event space and other backbone services
Community Table
The Community Table Project is a joint venture between Federated Charities, The Housing Authority of the City of Frederick (HACF) and The Common Market for the third year. The initiative is designed for families being served by the Housing Authority. Activities of the project promote the following pro-health activities: whole food cooking (as opposed to convenience foods); the use of local, seasonal produce for families and individuals who may be eligible for SNAP benefits; increased use of the farmers’ market system in the Frederick community, and; encourage participation in communal food events as a means of establishing stronger community ties.
Nonprofit Professional Development Series
Nonprofits and funders historically spend very small portions of their budgets on professional development and this has an impact on how we practice our work. At Federated Charities, we recognize that shared opportunities lead to greater expertise and maximize the resources of new and established programs. We are committed to offering professional and relevant training in our nonprofit community every year and we partner with seasoned professionals in the industry and offer at 6-8 free sessions every year. Our professional development series has been generously supported over the past three years by the Delaplaine Foundation, the Ausherman Family Foundation and the Helen J. Serini Foundation. In 2020, we will expand the program to add board development activities and partner with 4-6 nonprofit boards to implement a comprehensive strategy for recruiting, onboarding and developing their own board leaders more effectively.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of hours of training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Nonprofit Professional Development Series
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Our professional development series provides capacity skills for nonprofit staff, board members and volunteers. This number indicates the number of organizations who participated each year.
Total number of new organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Federated Charities Tenant-Partners
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Our nonprofit center offers free and reduced cost office space to 501c3 organizations and so they can focus more on their mission-based direct services.
Number of leadership positions held by organization staff in community initiatives
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
Nonprofit Professional Development Series
Type of Metric
Context - describing the issue we work on
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
We actively participate in a number of leadership activities including the Frederick Nonprofit Alliance, Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, DSSI (a community initiative to address homelessness),
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn 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?
Strategic Services Programming: As a nonprofit center, we offer bricks and mortar tenant space, professional development and consultation to organizations, boards of directors and emerging nonprofits. Our goal is to help build and support sustainable organizations in the community.
Compassionate Community Services: Our direct service programs in the community help collaborating nonprofits build relevant programs of their own and help create connections in the community around the work of all our organizations.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Strategic Services Programming: Our priorities have included upgrades to our infrastructure and changes to our space to support the community of emerging and established nonprofit organizations in Frederick. This includes offering free development and training for nonprofit staff, volunteers and board members, back-office systems to help reduce overhead costs and providing opportunities for more effective collaboration among organizations.
Compassionate Community Services: Each year, we review our programs for their ongoing relevance to the community as well as their impact. We evaluate revenue and expenses, continued participation and use pre and post-surveys. The programs we currently offer are unique in the community and are intentionally collaborative initiatives directly working with other nonprofit organizations. These services are strategically a priority of our organization but are fluid to meet current needs of individuals and families in Frederick.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Federated Charities has been in operation since 1911 and operated as a nonprofit center since the mid-1950s. We have used our bricks and mortar building, located in the heart of our community to ensure that individuals and families in Frederick continue to receive high-quality services to meet their day to day needs. We incorporate best practices in the industry in the areas of program management, board development and financial transparency and we also regularly survey our nonprofit tenants and the community for collaborative opportunities. Our professional staff and engaged board of directors are committed to advocating around the important work and impact of nonprofits in the community.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We accomplish our goals when we are able to maintain and offer local nonprofits a stable and innovative environment where they can better undertake their own mission and vision for serving individuals and families and we are proud to be able to continue to accomplish this. 2017 highlights include:
Strategic Service Programming – We supported 14 tenant-partners in our traditional rental program and nonprofit incubator. We offered 6 free professional development sessions to nonprofit employees, volunteers and board members. Our shared conference room is regularly used by as many as 10 additional nonprofits in Frederick.
Compassionate Community Services: Our medical equipment loan closet provided free medical equipment to Frederick residents, our Community Table Initiative doubled its distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables and our Rapid Response Assistance grants worked with local agency referrals to provide emergency assistance to individuals and families in the community.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
We serve other nonprofits in the community and have done a tenant survey each year for the past 4 years.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
Based on our 2019 client survey (we are a nonprofit center), we hired a property management firm to address ongoing maintenance and tenant issues more consistently. We also used focus group information with the larger community to pivot our programs more appropriately to our mission...this involved dissolving a longstanding program late last year but we provided assistance to another program in the community to fill the gap.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsTHE FEDERATED CHARITIES CORPORATION OF FREDERICK
Revenue & expensesFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
THE FEDERATED CHARITIES CORPORATION OF FREDERICK
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
Executive Director
Ms. Elin Elizabeth Ross
Until moving to the East Coast after college, Elin was a nomad, clocking time in California, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Indiana and New Jersey. She has lived in Frederick for 17 years. Her educational background includes a BA in biblical archaeology, an MA in applied anthropology and a professional certification in classical European pastry. She has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit industry and is especially interested in social enterprises and in the intersection of charitable work and the communities where they operate. She has extensive experience in many areas of nonprofit administration, including marketing and PR, fundraising, advocacy, finance management, program development and implementation, nonprofit standards and strategic planning. Elin joined Federated Charities in 2015 as executive director and when she’s not lighting a fire somewhere (figuratively), she can be found experimenting with fermented foods, gardening and lurking at the local farmers’ markets.
THE FEDERATED CHARITIES CORPORATION OF FREDERICK
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
THE FEDERATED CHARITIES CORPORATION OF FREDERICK
Highest paid employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
THE FEDERATED CHARITIES CORPORATION OF FREDERICK
Board of directorsas of 04/06/2023
Board of directors data
Mr. Forrest Popkin
Zavos
Term: 2023 - 2023
Forrest Popkin
Zavos Architecture
Kathy Fay
Retired
Kevin Moore
Moore Financial
Brandon Cannon
Ruppert Properties
Lisa Stang
Contour Construction
Kelly Lynch
JD Katz
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
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 03/23/2020GuideStar 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 review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- 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.
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- Letter of Determination
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- Board of Directors data for 2023
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