Eliot Community Human Services

Legal name: Eliot Community Human Services Inc

Overview

Mission

Eliot transforms lives by delivering compassionate, evidence-based care that promotes healing, hope, and belonging for all children, individuals and families. Eliot’s mission is accomplished by responding with humility to the needs and diversity of the individuals we serve; providing comprehensive services that are individualized, accessible, educational, and strengths-based; delivering high quality, evidence- and measurement-based programming; and valuing, enriching and partnering with our staff, our clients and our communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Behavioral health services: eliot operates two urgent outpatient mental sites and 3 low threshold housing programs that serve individuals with chronic co-occurring behavioral health and substance abuse disorders. Outreach to the unhoused population across the commonwealth is conducted in state and locally funded shelters, drop in and warming centers, and places not meant for human habitation. Once housing is successfully leveraged through federal, state or local resources, eliot personnel in partnership with various community based organizations health centers using a multi-disciplinary team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, mental health counselors, and other professionals to administer a full range of clinical and support services, resulting in a comprehensive, collaborative approach to treatment. We also operate two community behavioral health centers (cbhc) that are a one stop shop for a number of behavioral health and/or substance use treatment programs including urgent and emergency services, crisis stabilization unit, individual and family therapy services, including care coordination with primary care. These services are available for all ages (youth, families and adults) and are available 24/7.eliot, in association and in affiliation with insitutions of higher education and hospitals in education, provides training programs for professionals in the mental health counseling and behavioral health field. Eliot also engages in research and clinical studies in the field of mental heatlh.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 74% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042316924
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Lexington, MA, United States
Phone
(781) 861-0890
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Mental Health Center

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 95
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.9%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 89.9%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party 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
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 87.9% of revenue deployed · 89.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $224.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $473K · 24 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $274K reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MELINDA MATTHEWS (PRESIDENT/CEO): $472,687 total reported compensation
  • AARON KATZ (SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT): $378,542 total reported compensation
  • ALANA NAGLE (CBHC CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER): $351,637 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.