Economic Empowerment Trust Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383865038
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6173676900
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Financial Counseling

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$532,441
Expenses
$692,068
Assets
$915,122
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ALAYNA VAN TASSEL (Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • EMILY TORRES-CULLINANA (Designee of AG)
  • ALBERTO ANZOLA (Designee of Con Affair)
  • TODD OSTROWSKI (Designee of Comm Ed)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Charitable, Literary & Educational

What it reported doing in 2024

The BabySteps Savings Plan consists of two (2)programs. - Babysteps and SNAP into BabySteps. BabySteps is a seeded college savings program that has grown statewide from the SeedMA pilot program. During FY25, approximately 11,500 newly opened U.Fund 529 accounts were funded with the $50 seed deposit funded by EETF. SNAP into BabySteps is a pilot program in which every Massachusetts child enrolled in both BabySteps Savings Plan and SNAP benefits program is eligible to receive an addtional monthly deposit of $10 to their MEFA U.Fund 529 account over the span of one year. The program began in September of 2024 and has funded approximately $62,000 in FY2025. The program is run in partnership with Mass Dept of Transitional Assistance.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 93% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. 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: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 99.5%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -30%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.32; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.5% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.7% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 99.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $689K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 23 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.