Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 1946.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
83 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
24 people listed on the 990; $1.6M paid to officers and key staff.
Renee Skolaski’s $291K as President/CEO is at the 74th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3122 $10–100M human services nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renee Skolaski | $290,631 | $287,837 | $298,618 | $188,380 | — | — |
| Gerard McCaffery | — | — | — | $151,553 | $292,911 | $252,886 |
| Carla Defrancisco | — | — | $168,600 | $199,709 | $225,690 | $194,577 |
| Jacqueline McKelvey | — | $186,380 | $202,404 | $194,168 | $219,723 | $189,775 |
| Michol Holloway | — | — | — | — | $188,298 | $172,712 |
| Talya Gilaad | $144,398 | $145,042 | — | — | $182,402 | $161,503 |
| Gabrielle Phillip | — | $180,810 | — | — | — | — |
| Achim Kretschmer | $155,836 | $155,787 | $163,206 | $150,375 | $170,418 | $146,347 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
See Mercyfirst executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Provides short-term shelter to unaccompanied refugee children until they are unified with a sponsor family.
Questions for Mercyfirst
Your first name shows with your question. Mercyfirst answers here, for everyone.
Residential Community Programs
These programs afford children of all ages the opportunity to live in a community setting approximately 510 youth were provided services in community based residential programs.
Immigrant Youth Program Services
These programs provide a safe and caring environment for unaccompanied refugee children needing residential and other support services. Mercyfirst provided services for approximately 190 youth from infancy through age 17.
Residential Campus Programs
These programs provide a structured, nurturing, and corrective experience for adolescents who have serious adjustment difficulties that necessitate separation from their home and community. The programs provide services to approximately 65 youth on its campus.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
The auditor reported no findings.
The auditor reported no findings.
Plus 3 smaller programs.
The auditor reported 11 findings: a material weakness in money controls.
Plus 3 smaller programs.
The auditor reported 6 findings: a material weakness in money controls.
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | FY21 | FY20 | FY19 | FY18 | FY17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of yearLn 1g | $239K | $239K | $239K | $238K | $238K |
| Given inLn 1b | $1K | ||||
| SpentLn 1d–1f | $4K | $3K | $4K | $12K |
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $5.9M | $2.0M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $1K | $1K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $7.8M | $8.6M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $24.6M | $24.6M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $18.6M | $22.3M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $6.0M | $2.4M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $0 | |||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $0 | |||
| Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3 | $0 | |||
| Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4 | $0 | |||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $832K | $832K | ||
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $0 | |||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $27.5M | $23.8M | $3.6M | $116K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $140K | $122K | $17K | $596 |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $4.6M | $3.9M | $652K | $19K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $2.8M | $2.3M | $428K | $11K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $0 | |||
| Legal feesLn 11b | $179K | $102K | $76K | |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $162K | $14K | $148K | |
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $0 | |||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $0 | |||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $0 | |||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $2.5M | $1.5M | $975K | $16K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $0 | |||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $489K | $377K | $108K | $4K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $0 | |||
| RoyaltiesLn 15 | $0 | |||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $2.5M | $2.3M | $169K | $3K |
| TravelLn 17 | $223K | $211K | $11K | $427 |
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $0 | |||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $0 | |||
| InterestLn 20 | $416K | $187K | $229K | |
| Payments to affiliatesLn 21 | $0 | |||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $919K | $809K | $108K | $1K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $1.2M | $661K | $507K | $3K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $5.2M | $5.2M | $14K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $480K | $257K | $208K | $15K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $50.1M | $41.8M | $8.1M | $191K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Mar 24, 2026 | $61.8M | $61.3M | $468K | $2.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Apr 30, 2025 | $56.3M | $57.2M | −$855K | $2.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Mar 6, 2025 | $48.3M | $53.1M | −$4.9M | $3.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS May 15, 2023 | $52.6M | $47.0M | $5.6M | $7.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 ViewingFiled with the IRS May 16, 2022 | $46.4M | $50.1M | −$3.7M | $2.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS May 17, 2021 | $46.6M | $46.9M | −$270K | $6.0M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $46,422,164 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 15 of 15 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $46,422,164 across 14 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $50,086,594 across 31 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $24,629,062 assets, 24 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $2,372,439 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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