Freedom's Way Heritage Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043219394
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
Devens, MA, USA
Phone
9787723654
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Beautification and Aesthetics

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$505,084
Expenses
$475,286
Assets
$798,999
Liabilities
$315,576

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • FRANCA BARRICELLI (PRESIDENT)
  • PATRICE TODISCO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PATRICE TODISCO (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $124,882 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The freedom's way national heritage area connects the people, places, and communities of the heritage area through preservation, conservation, and educational initiatives to protect and promote our shared resources and encourage residents and visitors to explore our landscape, history, and culture

What it reported doing in 2024

Encompassing 45 communities in north central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, freedom's way heritage area (fwnha) was established by congress in 2009 to foster a close working relationship between local and regional partners, governmental agencies and the private sector to preserve the special historic identity of the region.freedom's way connects the people, places, and communities of the heritage area through preservation, conservation, and educational initiiatives that protect and promote the region's natural, cultural, and historic resources. The organization works in partnership with the national park service.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 94% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 76% for direct work, and 24% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 73
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.7%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 81.5%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 23.8%; rating input score 24; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.9%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.39; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 26.3%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.7% of revenue deployed · 81.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $388K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $125K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Grant itemization coverage scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.