Easterseals

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943068149
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location
Irvine, CA, USA
Phone
7148341111
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$622,282,926
Expenses
$619,963,327
Assets
$238,960,760
Liabilities
$80,417,186

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARK WHITLEY (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARK WHITLEY (CEO): $792,478 total reported compensation
  • BEVERLYN MENDEZ (COO): $665,744 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN BERGLUND (CFO): $590,753 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Easterseals makes a lasting difference each year by providing essential services to children and adults with disabilities, caregivers, older adults, veterans, and their families. Easterseals has a long and impactful history within the United States, dating back to the early 20th century, where we have consistently provided services and advocacy for individuals with disabilities, playing a significant role in improving their lives and promoting acceptance within communities across the nation. Notably, our name originates from a fundraising campaign using "Easter seals" which gained widespread public support, contributing to our national reach and influence. Easterseals Logo The organization changed its name in 1967 to Easter Seals. Today, we're known by Easterseals—united in our mission of serving others.

What it reported doing in 2025

Easter seals southern ca provides a wide range of essential and live-changing services that support children and adults with disabilities to achieve their personal goals, live independently, and to be fully included in their communities, at work, at school and at home. Autism therapy services: autism therapy services help individuals with autism and related disabilities build the communication, behavioral, social, and daily living skills needed to increase independence, strengthen relationships, and participate more fully in school, home, work, and community life. Through evidence-based aba therapy, speech and language therapy, physical therapy, occupational(cont. On sch. O) therapy, and social skills support, individuals receive personalized services that help them reach their full potential and improve their overall quality of life.child development services: child development services help children from birth to age five build the educational, social, and developmental skills they need to enter kindergarten ready to learn and succeed in school. At the same time, services strengthen family stability by connecting parents and caregivers to essential community resources, including food assistance, employment support, and housing services, helping create a strong foundation for a child's long-term success and well-being.adult and senior day services: adult day services empower adults to remain active, connected, and engaged in their communities. Through opportunities for volunteerism, skill building, social interaction, virtual learning, and personalized support, participants develop greater independence, purpose, confidence, and overall well-being while reducing isolation and strengthening community inclusion. Opportunities for virtual learning and engagement are also offered. Senior day services provide weekday activities, social interaction, and personal care for seniors with memory loss or disabilities. Designed for families caring for an elderly parent, spouse, or relative, the service provides caregivers with the opportunity to rest, recharge, or focus on personal and professional responsibilities during the day. Living options: living options helps people live successfully in their own homes or with their family, by enabling greater independence in their life and community, while reducing reliance on institutional care. The level of support is tailored to individual need, from 24/7 to minimal. Additionally, a coordinated family service option guides families through complex care journeys with personalized planning, advocacy, and resource navigation for families caring for a loved one with developmental disabilities. This coordination helps families maintain stability and well-being while building sustainable care plans.employment services: employment services provide personalized, one-on-one support to help individuals with disabilities find and retain meaningful employment. Individuals build skills, earn income, contribute their talents, and participate more fully in their communities through successful, long-term employment, ultimately achieving greater independence and quality of life.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 94% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The program-spending lines do not add up, so the filing cannot show reliably whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.8%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 85.6%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $27.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 65th 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: 0.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.7%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 84.8% of revenue deployed · 85.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $530.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $792K · 27 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $176.1M reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.