A Better Way of Living Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 850482521
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Albuquerque, NM, USA
- Phone
- 5053329164
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Developmentally Disabled Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,313,025
- Expenses
- $6,588,505
- Assets
- $1,894,038
- Liabilities
- $436,482
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- JOHN NOEL (Executive Dir.): $90,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
A better way of living, incorporated provides rehabilitation services to individuals with developmental disabilities in the form of housing, daily needs, and training.
What it reported doing in 2024
A better way of living, incorporated provides services and support to individuals with developmental disabilities under a medicaid home and community based services, specifically the developmental disabilities waiver. Services include supported living, customized in home support and customized integrated employment and customized community support.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 90% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 78.6%; rating input score 79
- Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 9.9%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 78.6% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $90K · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.