Financial Wellness Institute

Legal name: Financial Wellness Institute Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
753109240
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2019
Location
Westville, NJ, US
Phone
(888) 251-1414
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Adult, Continuing Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$293,302
Expenses
$211,464
Assets
$1,138,375
Liabilities
$1,211,969

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Wanda Hardy (CEO)
  • Tiffanie Talley-Baines (Vice President)
  • Vincent Spano (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Wanda Hardy (CEO): $27,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Strengthen individuals and families and move communities to economic stability

What it reported doing in 2025

In support of our mission the Financial Wellness Instutute conducted programs and provided support to individuals and families in the following programs:1. Financial Eduction & Economic Empowerment2, Housing 3. Other Programs Small Business Technical Support Workforce Development - Career Services

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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.7%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 87%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 27.9%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.38; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.06; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 62.7% of revenue deployed · 87% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $184K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $28K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 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.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.