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Friendship Service Center Inc

EIN 06-0871295 · New Britain, CT

Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.

LegitimacyPassesRegistration and standingFinancial healthWeak43 out of 100GovernanceStrong100 out of 100Impact evidenceDescribes programsHow well its results are evidenced

What it says it does

Friendship Service Center makes love visible through compassionate, person-centered services for those at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Friendship Service Center, Inc. envisions a Greater New Britain community where everyone has a safe, affordable home and episodes of hunger and homelessness are brief and non-recurring.

Income
$5.0 million
Spending
$5.1 million
Spent on programs
86%
Reserves
-10.7 months of spending
Largest source of income
government grants, 84%
Employees
84
Volunteers
540
Highest pay
$161,222, chief executive officer

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Financial health

Weak: 43 out of 100. Higher than 22% of charities in its peer group (housing, $1m to $10m).

  • Reserves

    0 of 35

    Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.

  • Debt

    5 of 20

    It owes 60% of what it owns.

  • Living within its means

    8 of 15

    Spending exceeded income by 3% of income.

  • Income trend

    15 of 15

    Income rose 20% on the year before.

  • Spending floor

    15 of 15

    86% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 1 cents.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Governance

Strong: 100 out of 100. Higher than 70% of charities in its peer group (housing, $1m to $10m).

  • Independent board

    25 of 25

    10 of 10 voting board members are independent.

  • Conflict of interest policy

    15 of 15

    Has a written conflict of interest policy.

  • Whistleblower policy

    8 of 8

    Has a written whistleblower policy.

  • Record keeping policy

    7 of 7

    Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.

  • Board minutes

    5 of 5

    Keeps minutes of board meetings.

  • Board sees the tax return

    10 of 10

    Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.

  • Pay set independently

    5 of 5

    Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.

  • Independent check of accounts

    15 of 15

    Its accounts were audited by an independent accountant.

  • No reported misuse

    10 of 10

    Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Impact evidence

Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.

Programs described in its return (4)
  1. $1.8 million spent. Supportive Housing: PEAK (People Empowered by Achievement and Knowledge) and HAL (Home At Last) programs offer subsidized housing vouchers to formerly homeless individuals or families so that they may live in apartments scattered throughout the Greater New Britain area while receiving case management services. Certificates are currently available for 33 apartments through PEAK and 10 apartments through HAL; participants pay one-third of their income for rent and the program pays the rest. ASH (Arch Street Housing) and Howey House are two buildings where formerly homeless individuals or families live in their own apartments within a communal building where on-site case management is offered to support self-sufficiency. Arch Street Housing consists of 21 one- two- and three-bedroom apartments for families and individual adults at 59 and 85 Arch Street in New Britain. Howey House consists of 11 efficiency or one-bedroom units for individual adults at 180 North Street in New Britain. We served 120 people from 83 households in FY25 through these programs.
  2. $993,906 spent. Interim Housing: Our 37-bed Emergency Shelter for individual adults and families with children, and our Transitional Living Program for 10 homeless youth (ages 18-24), are located in our Virginia C. Davis Building. Since September 2023, we also have opened 4 respite beds for individual adults experiencing homelessness that are frequent users of Hospital of Central CT services. We served 124 people from 99 households through our Emergency Shelter program; 44 youth through our Transitional Living program; and 28 people in our medical respite program in FY25.
  3. $1.5 million spent. Hope Connection Center: Hope Connection Center is a drop-in center for people at-risk of or experiencing homelessness in Central CT at 61 Arch St, New Britain. The project is a community partnership with a number of agencies in the region to offer leveraged services like financial literacy, substance use recovery support, mental health, and employment, supplementing the resources HCC offers, such as showers and laundry. We served 710 people from 672 households in FY25 through this program.
  4. $117,963 spent. SOAR: SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) aims to increase access to the disability income benefit programs administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA) for eligible adults who are experiencing homelessness or who are at risk of experiencing homelessness and have a mental illness and/or a substance use disorder. We served 29 people from 29 households in FY25 through this program.

Source: Form 990 for the year ending June 30, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate

Legitimacy checks

  1. Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.

    Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  2. Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.

    Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.

    Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  3. Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.

    On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.

    Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  4. Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.

    Most recent return on file covers the year ending June 2025.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  5. How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.

    Recognized by the IRS since February 1971.

    Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.

  6. Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.

    Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.

    Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated October 21, 2026.

Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.