PLATINUM2024

Friends for Life

Hope for Generations

Waco, TX   |  http://friendsforlife.org
GuideStar Charity Check

Friends for Life

EIN: 74-2550748


Mission

Friends for Life is a 501(c)(3) charity founded in September 1989 in Waco, Texas, to improve the quality of life for seniors and people with disabilities, particularly those without family to care for them. Friends for Life provides support systems and services that empower seniors and people with disabilities to live their best lives as independently as possible.

Notes from the nonprofit

Friends for Life (FFL) has served seniors and people with disabilities since 1989. From a one person office that used volunteers to help people remain independent, we have grown in response to unmet needs to provide a continuum of services for this population with eight programs available through our home office in Waco, Texas and six satellite offices around Texas. Our mission is to provide systems and services that empower seniors and people with disabilities to live their best lives as independently as possible. Our programs include Adult Day Care, Independent Living, Quality of Life, Lifelines, Life Skills Training, Money Management and Guardianship. Our newest program just started in September, 2024 and serves Children & Youth with Special HealthCare Needs with caregiver education and connection to needed resources. We welcome the opportunity to expand our services to work with families who have children and youth with special health care needs.

Ruling year info

1989

Executive Director

Mrs. Inez Russell

Main address

PO Box 23491

Waco, TX 76702-3 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

74-2550748

Subject area info

Elder abuse

Human services

Population served info

People with disabilities

Seniors

Victims of crime and abuse

NTEE code info

Developmentally Disabled Services/Centers (P82)

Services to Promote the Independence of Specific Populations (P80)

Senior Centers/Services (P81)

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Friends for Life is working to address issues of isolation, loneliness, and lack of support systems for the elderly and people with disabilities. Over half of the elderly people living alone who need help with activities of daily living are not receiving any help at all. Over half of the people who are in long term care never receive a visit from anyone. We are insuring that the most vulnerable people know that there is someone who cares for them and someone they can call when they need help.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Adult Day Care

Friends for Life operates an Adult Day Care Center at 5000 Lakewood in Waco, TX. the center is open from 7:30am to 6pm, Monday through Friday providing nursing care, nutritious meals, activities, transportation and more.

Population(s) Served
Seniors
People with disabilities

Friends for Life is appointed by judges to serve as guardian for people who are unable to make decisions for themselves and have no qualified family members willing to serve.

Population(s) Served
Seniors
People with disabilities

Friends for Life helps the elderly and people with disabilities make sure their bills are paid. Staff and volunteers advocate, intercede with creditors, help with budgets, balance checkbooks, reconcile bank statements and stop exploitation.

Population(s) Served
Seniors
People with disabilities

Friends for Life recruits, trains and organizes volunteers to help the elderly and people with disabilities live in their own homes as long as possible. Volunteers grocery shop, run errands, provide transportation to the doctor, do minor household repairs, change lightbulbs and much more.

Population(s) Served
Seniors
People with disabilities

Friends for Life recruits, trains and organizes volunteers to improve the quality of life for seniors and adults with disabilities. Through programs like Adopt a Grandparent, Visiting, Gifts for Grannies and Grandpas, too, Friends for Thanksgiving, Telephone Reassurance and more, Friends for Life is helping people know someone cares and that there is someone they can call if they need help.

Population(s) Served
Seniors
People with disabilities

Trainers provide help people with developmental disabilities in nursing home become more independent with a goal of empowering them to move back out into the community.

Population(s) Served
People with intellectual disabilities

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of phone calls/inquiries

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Seniors, People with disabilities

Related Program

Adult Day Care

Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

This year our Adult Day Care Center reached capacity. We receive more than 200 calls a year from people inquiring about this service and we now serve 120 clients in this program.

Number of volunteers

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Seniors, People with disabilities

Related Program

Quality of Life Programs

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

During COVID, the number of Volunteers decreased. We are working to reconnect with individual and groups of volunteer to get back to between 1,000 and 3,000 volunteers each year with Friends for Life.

Number of clients served

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Guardianship

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of clients living independently

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Seniors, People with disabilities

Related Program

Independent Living

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Number of training programs created

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Seniors, People with disabilities

Related Program

Guardianship

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

In addition to our in house training, in 2016 we developed an online training and orientation for our volunteers. Online Guardianship training created with Baylor University.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Friends for Life has worked for over 34 years to make life better for seniors and people with disabilities especially those who are without family. Protecting against abuse, neglect and exploitation and empowering vulnerable people to be the best they can be are an important part of this work as is serving people in need without compromising their dignity or their right to confidentiality. With an ultimate goal of being able to reach into rural counties across the state to serve unserved people, Friends for Life is working now to become strong enough financially to accomplish the goal of helping people across the state continue to live independently and to improve the quality of their lives.

Friends for Life has looked at each part of its work to determine what is working and what is not. By streamlining its operations, the charity is becoming more efficient and able to serve more clients with fewer paid staff. Communication internally and externally is being improved. Processes have been reviewed to increase productivity. Job descriptions have been studied and positions redefined to make the entire program more cost effective. New funding strategies are being implemented and as funding makes it possible the program areas will be expanded to serve more isolated elderly and people with disabilities.

Friends for Life has a talented, committed, connected Board of Directors, a very qualified, dedicate staff and thousands of volunteers who are helping us accomplish our objectives. The charity partners with hundreds of businesses, churches, civic organizations, and others who multiply our ability to serve. Much of our ability to serve has come from 34 years of experience serving the elderly and people with disabilities. This experience has provided opportunities to meet those who refer new clients to us as well as those who can help us serve these people in need. This network is a huge asset. Well developed systems for each aspect of serving provide us with capability to serve. And, we are blessed with creative people who constantly come up with new ways to improve the lives of people in need. Well established relationships with schools, churches and civic organizations are giving us interns, work study students, and a constant flow of volunteers.

Friends for Life began in September of 1989 in a small borrowed office with no paid staff, no volunteers, no programs, no funding and no clients. Today its headquarters is a 26,000 sf state of the art Intergenerational Center. The charity has offices in Abilene, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, Texas City and Tyler. With a paid staff of 85, thousands of volunteers, dozens of programs, Friends for Life has served almost 26,000 people over the years.We would like to double the size of our Adult Day Care Center, create a Supported Decision Making Program and take our Independent Living, Quality of Life, and Money Management Programs into unserved counties across the state and we would like to do this debt free.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We demonstrated a willingness to learn more by reviewing resources about feedback practice.
done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • 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, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), 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

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve

Financials

Friends for Life
Fiscal year: Sep 01 - Aug 31

Revenue vs. expenses:  breakdown

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info
NET GAIN/LOSS:    in 
Note: When component data are not available, the graph displays the total Revenue and/or Expense values.

Liquidity in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

0.56

Average of 0.21 over 10 years

Months of cash in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

2.2

Average of 0.6 over 10 years

Fringe rate in 2023 info

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

13%

Average of 13% over 10 years

Funding sources info

Source: IRS Form 990

Assets & liabilities info

Source: IRS Form 990

Financial data

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Friends for Life

Revenue & expenses

Fiscal Year: Sep 01 - Aug 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

Friends for Life

Balance sheet

Fiscal Year: Sep 01 - Aug 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

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.

Fiscal year ending: cloud_download Download Data

Friends for Life

Financial trends analysis Glossary & formula definitions

Fiscal Year: Sep 01 - Aug 31

SOURCE: IRS Form 990 info

This snapshot of Friends for Life’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.

Created in partnership with

Business model indicators

Profitability info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation -$152,204 -$99,505 $503,804 $49,210 $366,801
As % of expenses -5.7% -3.3% 19.0% 1.6% 10.8%
Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation -$235,057 -$182,155 $419,931 -$33,171 $281,756
As % of expenses -8.6% -6.0% 15.3% -1.0% 8.1%
Revenue composition info
Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) $2,711,493 $2,869,903 $3,158,758 $3,137,299 $3,757,975
Total revenue, % change over prior year 15.4% 5.8% 10.1% -0.7% 19.8%
Program services revenue 82.9% 77.1% 57.2% 71.4% 69.9%
Membership dues 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
Investment income 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.7%
Government grants 8.3% 0.0% 28.8% 0.0% 11.2%
All other grants and contributions 8.7% 21.7% 13.0% 28.3% 18.2%
Other revenue 0.1% 1.2% 1.0% 0.3% 0.0%
Expense composition info
Total expenses before depreciation $2,656,002 $2,974,007 $2,654,954 $3,086,711 $3,391,174
Total expenses, % change over prior year 15.2% 12.0% -10.7% 16.3% 9.9%
Personnel 77.6% 82.8% 82.3% 80.1% 80.7%
Professional fees 2.4% 0.7% 0.5% 0.5% 0.6%
Occupancy 3.2% 3.5% 3.7% 5.2% 3.9%
Interest 2.5% 2.1% 1.8% 1.5% 1.4%
Pass-through 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0%
All other expenses 14.3% 10.9% 11.7% 12.7% 13.4%
Full cost components (estimated) info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Total expenses (after depreciation) $2,738,855 $3,056,657 $2,738,827 $3,169,092 $3,476,219
One month of savings $221,334 $247,834 $221,246 $257,226 $282,598
Debt principal payment $90,239 $0 $553,993 $0 $95,099
Fixed asset additions $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total full costs (estimated) $3,050,428 $3,304,491 $3,514,066 $3,426,318 $3,853,916

Capital structure indicators

Liquidity info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Months of cash 0.1 0.7 0.3 1.8 2.2
Months of cash and investments 0.1 0.7 0.3 1.8 2.2
Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets -0.6 -1.7 -0.2 -0.4 0.4
Balance sheet composition info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Cash $17,980 $172,202 $62,438 $470,397 $622,942
Investments $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Receivables $138,472 $132,160 $148,650 $139,269 $205,105
Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) $3,579,249 $3,598,237 $3,627,179 $3,631,725 $3,690,269
Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) 43.5% 45.6% 47.6% 49.0% 50.6%
Liabilities (as a % of assets) 67.5% 76.8% 55.3% 63.0% 55.0%
Unrestricted net assets $708,556 $526,401 $946,332 $913,161 $1,194,917
Temporarily restricted net assets $0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Permanently restricted net assets $0 N/A N/A N/A N/A
Total restricted net assets $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total net assets $708,556 $526,401 $946,332 $913,161 $1,194,917

Key data checks

Key data checks info 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Material data errors No No No No No

Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

Documents
Form 1023/1024 is not available for this organization

Executive Director

Mrs. Inez Russell

Inez Russell is both the founder and the Executive Director of Friends for Life. She has almost thirty years experience in management and is also an author and a presenter. She is the recipient of a number of awards including the Pathfinder Award for Civil Service, Woman of the Year, Woman of Distinction, Citizen of the Year, Who's Who in America, and Who's Who in the World. This work is her mission.

Number of employees

Source: IRS Form 990

Friends for Life

Officers, directors, trustees, and key employees

SOURCE: IRS Form 990

Compensation
Other
Related
Show data for fiscal year
Compensation data
Download up to 5 most recent years of officer and director compensation data for this organization

There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.

Friends for Life

Board of directors
as of 10/07/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board of directors data
Download the most recent year of board of directors data for this organization
Board chair

Mr. B J Greaves

ARCHITEXAS

Term: 2021 - 2023

Tom Ray

LAN Engineering Firm

Leonard Englander

Retired, Sunbright Paper

Erma Ballenger

Retired, Baylor University

Marylea Henderson

McLennan Community College

Sandy Ray

Retired

B J Greaves

Architexas

Nancy Williams

Retired

Robin Jamison

Mission Medicare Insurance Agency

Janie Martinez

Bluebonnet Health Services

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 10/1/2024

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
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

No data

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 10/01/2024

GuideStar 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

Data
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • 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.
Policies and processes
  • We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
  • 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 measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team.
  • 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.