Children's Grief Center of El Paso

What it reported doing in 2025

Established in 1995, the Children's Grief Center (CGC) of El Paso continues to be the only non-profit agency in west Texas providing grief support and education services to bereaved children, youth, and families-the nearest similar service in Texas is located 586 miles away. CGC provides services to all youth (ages 3-25) and their caregivers who have experienced a death loss, irrespective of the circumstances of the death, the relationship of the child to the deceased, or any other special. Our mission is to compassionate and inclusive spaces that promote healing and well-being among grieving children, youth, and their families through community-based peer groups, individual and family services, and grief-informed education and advocacy. We believe that no child should grieve alone and that every child should have access to healing, health, and hope through grief-informed communities. CGC's services are aimed at mitigating the impact of Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) and reducing the risk of mental health challenges among youth and their caregivers through grief support. In El Paso, it is estimated that nearly 1 in 10 children are affected by the death loss of a parent, the highest in Texas given several factors that affect our local border community. The loss of a loved one can affect a child physically, emotionally, behaviorally, and academically in both the long and short term. Unresolved grief in children place them at higher risk for anti-social behaviors, self-destructive behaviors, and chronic mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, avoidant personality, dependent personality, obsessive-compulsive personality disorders and suicide. 2025 was a banner year for CGC, as we purchased our first, permanent facility, Braden's Home of Hope, located at 2616 Montana in the centrally-located Five Points region of the city and county. The new space includes 4400 square feet of service area, with a full basement and four, outdoor therapeutic areas enclosed by fencing. The new campus more than doubles the amount of space available for service delivery at our leased location and includes eight indoor programming rooms suitable for the delivery of group and individual services. The facility was purchased in June2025, through the generous investment of community partners, and six months of renovations were followed by move-in on December 18. The new space will permit CGC to significantly expand services to more youth and families in 2026. In 2025, CGC served 515 individuals through our continuum of grief support, education, and therapy services. This continuum of services is organized into two programs: 1. Grief Support and Education; and 2. Grief Therapy. Services are provided at our Center, in school and at community-based locations, virtually, & via phone, removing barriers to access to care for all. Six (of the 7) services are housed in CGC's Grief Support & Education Program. First, CGC provides navigation (information, resource & screening) annually to approximately 290 individuals, recognizing needs for psychoeducation following death loss and wraparound support. Second, a licensed mental health therapist provides family-based Comprehensive Grief Assessment (to 179 in 2025) to offer guidance on a care plan. Third, most families participate in developmentally specific Peer Grief Support Groups, co-facilitated by staff and long-term, CGC-trained volunteers (largely with lived experience), to leverage support from shared experience and evidence-informed, structured activities. Peer support groups are delivered in multi-family group format (Family Group Night) and in specialty format (kinship caregivers, young child). Fourth, CGC provides a school-based, Grief Talks curriculum in partnership with regional school districts, (reaching 5 campuses and 130 caregivers and staff participants in 2025). Fifth, in 2025, CGC successfully completed the second annual Good Grief Camp, which served 72 individuals, bringing holistic a

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 31.9%; rating input score 32
• Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
• Fundraising efficiency: $46.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 24th 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: 60.1%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.38; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 19.7%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 26.1% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings