The Home for Little Wanderers Inc

Overview

Mission

To help vulnerable children and their families build permanent, positive change.

What it reported doing in 2024

Transitional programs: the home offers a number of programs for those moving into adulthood who need additional help and resources to further their educational and vocational goals and to prepare them for meaningful lives:- hillsborough village scattered site apartments programing aimed to create an intermediate step between our program-based units and independent living.- roxbury village provides safe, affordable housing for youth who are - or are at risk of being homeless, while helping them to develop critical skills, life plans and connections to community resources.- somerville village: support for higher education enables young women who are homeless or at-risk for homelessness to pursue post-secondary education by providing housing, therapeutic, emotional, and educational supports.- roxbury village provides transitional housing for young adults between ages of 18-22, who have typically been involved with the child welfare system.- liberty village is a shelter for young adults between the ages of 18-25, who are experiencing homelessness.- roxbury house staffed and supported apartments provides apartment style housing and services designed to promote health, wellness, and recovery through person-centered services and supports that enable individuals to live, work, attend school and participate in their communities.- scattered site apartments - youth receive intensive coaching around the development of life skills through case management services while they transition to learning to live independently.- youth on fire provides a day-time facility, basic needs and support services to homeless youth between the ages of 14-24.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The nonprofit carried out 100% of its reported program work directly.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042104764
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Boston, MA, USA
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Services

Official website

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The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and available reserves provide a limited financial cushion.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.8%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited
  • Public monitoring controls: Limited
  • Public policy transparency: Limited
  • Public financial transparency: Limited
  • Impact reporting controls: Limited
  • Public relationship transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Public governance controls: Limited
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 10.9%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 1.35; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.8% of revenue deployed · 84.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $79.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $521K · 33 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.