AUDIT: Percentage of expenses going directly to program work sets new record

AMERICUS, Georgia — Since our founding 20 years ago, The Fuller Center for Housing has been committed to faithful stewardship designed to deliver the most powerful impact with the generosity of our supporters.

Nonprofit standards call for at least 65 percent of expenses to go toward program work and less than 33 percent on administrative, fundraising, marketing and related overhead costs. The latest independent financial audit of The Fuller Center finds that 94.1 percent of expenses went to program work — specifically, building and repairing homes — in the past fiscal year.

That 94.1 percent figure sets a new record for our affordable housing ministry … though just barely. Just two years ago, that record was set at 93.9 percent. The important thing is that as the generosity of our supporters has increased in recent years, the overhead has not. Those positive program expense numbers continue to reflect just that, and our supporters are seeing their generosity maximized and used judiciously.

“We’re proud of this expense ratio,” Fuller Center President David Snell said. “We work hard to keep costs down and still get the job done. Of course, there’d be no ratio if it weren’t for our generous donors, so the real thank you goes to them!”