Alternative Supports Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042590177
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Waltham, MA, USA
Phone
7818916760
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,017,662
Expenses
$11,462,498
Assets
$9,676,567
Liabilities
$2,393,708

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT LEONARD (PRESIDENT)
  • LISA SMALLEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA SMALLEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $180,177 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER NOCELLA (DIRECT CARE): $179,307 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER BURZYK (DIRECT CARE): $120,246 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide training, recreation, work experience and day & residential supports to individuals with mental and behavioral challenges.

What it reported doing in 2024

Training in daily living and basic education - workship experience, recreational activities and evaluation for job placement for individuals with mental and behavioral challenges, staffed residential homes, and programs that offer individuals choices on clinical, emotional, behavioral, and health issues.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 56
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 91.4%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.9%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.2% of revenue deployed · 91.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $180K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $350K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.