Ben's Friends

Tax-deductible

Charleston, SC501(c)(3)Mental HealthEIN 81-4548364

Ben's friends is the food and beverage industry support group offering hope, fellowship, and a path forward to professionals who struggle with substance abuse and addiction.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
95¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$84K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 2
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $76K a year · 31% of revenue · last 2 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 2 of the last 2 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 2 filings
Spent on programs
95%
of spending
Looks good: 95% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$84K
to officers and key staff · 54% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 72% of similar orgs
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 54% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
16 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 15.6 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
4
named funders · $41K
Looks good: 4 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1K
0.5% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
3
of 4 voting members
Looks good: 3 of 4 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$260K
+16% vs prior year
Spent
$154K
To programs
95%
Net assets
$209K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$260K
FY2024▲ +16%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$162K
FY2021$175K
FY2022$94K
FY2023$224K
FY2024$260K
Expenses
$154K
FY2024▼ -14%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020Not on file
FY2021Not on file
FY2022Not on file
FY2023$178K
FY2024$154K
Net assets
$209K
FY2024▲ +103%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$112K
FY2021$147K
FY2022$57K
FY2023$103K
FY2024$209K

From the FY2024 Form 990 · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jun 2018.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

95 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 95% · $147K Management & general 5% · $7K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

4 people listed on the 990; $84K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Vice President
$83,654Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer/Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Michael S Bakst’s $84K as Vice President is at the 72nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 2094 $100K–1M mental health 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Michael S Bakst$83,654$75,000$75,000$75,000$42,474

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 Ben's Friends executive salaries →

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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 15aNo

Programs and updates

Helps food and beverage professionals overcome substance abuse with support and fellowship.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Ben's Friends claims this page.

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1 program service account for $147K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Ben's friends offers a safe and constructive haven for those grappling with and maintaining sobriety though support groups, outreach, and financial assistance for those seeking treatment.

$147Kprogram expense

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Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 4 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$260K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$260K
Money outPt IX
$154K
Ln 25
Programscol B$147K
Managementcol C$7K
Owns and owesPt X
$209K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$201K
Total assetsLn 16$210K
LiabilitiesLn 26$1K
PeoplePt VI, VII
4
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a4
IndependentVI 1b3
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$260K
Total revenueLn 12$260K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$201K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$201K
Total assetsLn 16$210K
LiabilitiesLn 26$1K
Net assetsLn 32$209K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 51
VolunteersI 60
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aNo
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$101K$201K
Total assetsLn 16$103K$210K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$1K
Net assetsLn 32$103K$209K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$84K$84K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$924$924
Payroll taxesLn 10$6K$6K
Legal feesLn 11b$3K$3K
Accounting feesLn 11c$337$337
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$14K$14K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$23K$23K
Office expensesLn 13$2K$2K
TravelLn 17$14K$14K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$4K$4K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$388$388
InsuranceLn 23$2K$126$2K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$180$180
Total functional expensesLn 25$154K$147K$7K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest Viewing $260K$154K$106K$209K 990 PDF
FY2023 $224K$178K$46K$103K 990 PDF
FY2022 $94K$57K 990 PDF
FY2021 $175K$147K 990 PDF
FY2020 $162K$112K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $260,079 across 3 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$260,079
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$260,079
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$260,079
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $154,074 across 13 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $83,654$83,654
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $924$924
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $6,400$6,400
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $2,664$2,664
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $337$337
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $14,350$14,350
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $22,934$22,934
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $1,550$1,550
IX-17 TravelPrograms $14,490$14,490
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $3,840$3,840
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $388$388
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $126 · Management $2,237$2,363
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Management $180$180
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $147,106 · Management $6,968 · Fundraising $0$154,074
Part X · Balance sheet $210,082 assets, 9 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $101,331$200,667
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $1,213$9,415
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $388$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $102,932$210,082
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expenses$1,145
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$1,145
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $102,932$208,937
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $102,932$208,937
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $102,932$210,082
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $208,937 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$260,079
XI-2 Total expenses$154,074
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$106,005
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$102,932
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$208,937

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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