Dylan Emerson

Dr. Stiles and Shawna Lippert

INOV2100 Sec. 1

10 February 2020

Survey of an Organization

1. Does the agency have yearly program reports and Forms 990?

Care and Share, Inc. of Colorado Springs does offer a Forms 990, as well as yearly program

reports. The Forms 990 from fiscal year 2018 for Care and Share, Inc. of Colorado Springs can

be found on their website at careandshare.org, selecting the “About” tab, selecting “Annual

Report & Financials,” then selecting “2018-2019 Form 990.”

2. What programs does the agency offer?

This agency offers plenty of programs for people of all ages, such as the Commodity

Supplemental Food Program. This program serves elderly people and aims to provide extra food

for low-income seniors by holding monthly food distributions. Care and Share, Inc. has other

programs, including the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, which is a monthly

imbursement of food credit for groceries loaded on a debit card for people of all ages; the

Emergency Food Assistance Program, which is a monthly food-distribution service for

individuals and families that are low-income, funded by the government; and the Cooking

Matters program, which aims to help low-income families learn how to cook healthily and

affordably through a six-week course.

 3. What is the agency service area (geographic area)?

The agency primarily operates in several counties of Colorado, including Pueblo County, El Paso

County, Teller County, La Plata County, and Fremont County. A map of Care and Share's

service area can be found below. According to their 2018-2019 annual report, Care and Share’s

service area spans across approximately 31 counties of Southern Colorado.

4. What population(s) does the agency serve?

Care and Share, being a food bank for the communities of Southern Colorado, serves a general

population. Whether an elderly woman finds herself short of food for the week, or a young man

is struggling to make ends meet, Care and Share will feed all who are in need.

5. Is the agency adequately funded to meet its needs, or is it struggling?

This agency is adequately funded to meet its needs. In fiscal year 2016 alone, the company had a

total revenue of $45,298,600, of which they had $44,896,481 in total expenses. Care and Share

has also published an auditor’s report of their financials from as recent as 2018, which can be

found in the same location as the Form 990 on Care and Share’s website. This report reveals that

Care and Share earned a total revenue of $48,539,428 with a total of $48,518,550 in expenses.

Considering Care and Share made a net profit of approximately $20,000, one can assume that the

nonprofit is financially stable and adequately funded. The agency’s table of expenses and

earnings from fiscal year 2016 can be found below. Overall, these numbers tell us that Care and

Share receives a large portion of their revenue from contributions, grants, gifts, and donations,

which they primarily utilize in program services, such as supplying their food banks and fueling

their delivery trucks, with a fraction of the money going towards paying administration. Because

Care and Share can spend over half a million dollars on administration, one can assume these

funds are not needed for their programs, which further proves that they are adequately funded.

6. Approximately how many grant applications does the agency prepare each year?
Because the agency has several federally-funded programs, such as the Commodity

Supplemental Food Program, one can assume the agency prepares at least ten grant applications

each year. Each of these grant applications are assumed to fund at least one program each, as

well as other costs the agency may need covered, such as administrative costs.

7. Does the agency offer client-centered services that are culturally appropriate?

The agency does offer client-centered services that are culturally appropriate. Care and Share’s

primary goal is to feed the people of Southern Colorado, regardless of age, gender, race, etc. If a

client is low-income and in need of food, they can go to a food distribution center from Care and

Share. With this in mind, it is apparent that the agency’s services are culturally appropriate

because they don’t target specific ethnic or religious groups and are welcoming of everyone.

8. Does the agency have a way for clients to provide input into the services they receive or

want to receive?

The agency provides several means of contact if a client wishes to provide input into the services

they receive or want to receive. Clients can primarily choose to email the agency directly with

their questions or comments, as well as tour the facilities, and call the agency. There is also a

separate section on Care and Share’s website that allows the client to advocate for the agency

and provide positive feedback, spreading awareness to others and ultimately helping the agency

feed more people.

9. Is the agency open and comfortable sharing information with you?

N/A.

10. Does the agency keep records of services delivered?

The agency does keep records of services delivered, as can be seen in their 2018-2019 annual

report. They proudly announce their high numbers of meals served and people helped, as well as

the miles travelled to deliver these services on a section of their annual report shown below.

Their 2018-2019 annual report can also be found here.

11. Does the agency conduct research to determine the effectiveness of its services?
Care and Share does conduct research to determine the effectiveness of their services. They have

consistently self-reported meals served and provided, as well as pounds of food they have

rescued. For example, in 2017, the agency served or provided 19,071,666 meals and rescued

23,702,122 pounds of food. Considering these numbers are in the millions, one can safely

assume Care and Share’s services are very effective, as they are feeding thousands of people

yearly and rescuing literal tons of food so it can aid more people, rather than going to a landfill.

12. Does the agency have a good reputation in the community?

The agency has a very good reputation in the community. According to Facebook reviews, as

well as comments on their own site, there is overwhelmingly positive support for Care and

Share. As with all good things, there are a handful of negative comments, but just scrolling

through their Facebook page one can see many more positive comments than negative. Some

reviewers even go as far as to say Care and Share saved their lives and helped to pull them out of

a dark place. Clearly, Care and Share is a successful and reputable agency, respected by many

within the community they serve, as shown by the comments below.

 13. Has the agency ever been in a collaborative? What services have they delivered in a

collaborative and what agencies did they collaborate with?

Care and Share has been involved in multiple collaboratives. One such collaborative was with

Kaiser Permanente, a nonprofit health care delivery system. In this case, Kaiser Permanente

delivered thousands of volunteers across Southern Colorado to help other Care and Share

volunteers feed those in need. Kaiser Permanente is constantly getting involved with many

nonprofit and community projects to volunteer wherever possible, and this agency put those

volunteer hours to great use by feeding many of the Southern Colorado communities.

14. Request to see an agency organization chart (org chat).