Assist

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464080885
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2016, Form 990-N 2013
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5038882690
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$641,282
Expenses
$512,370
Assets
$427,508
Liabilities
$5,400

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Mellani Calvin (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Mellani Calvin (Executive Director): $115,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of ASSIST is to officially advocate for and represent applicants with severe disabilities who are eligible for SSI and SSD benefits. ASSIST guides clients through all levels of the Federal Administrative claims review process. ASSIST is an income-generating service for its clients and a key element in the fight to end poverty. ASSIST's services, both guiding clients through the application process and educating other service providers on the process, benefit clients and the community.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025 ASSIST continued to increase new revenue streams through grants and a Clackamas County Housing Division contract to serve more people with disabilities. Many grant requests were made following a robust grants calendar throughout the year. These severely disabled clients were helped to file Social Security Disability benefits (SSD) and Supplemental Security Income benefits (SSI) applications. We successfully completed 87 cases for our clients. Special outreach to organizations that serve vulnerable people in the Clackamas County metropolitan area were held.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 53
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.2%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 82.2%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.23 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.1%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.83; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.2% of revenue deployed · 82.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $421K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $115K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.