Friends in Action
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 263890685
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2012, Form 990-N 2011
- Location
- Durham, NH, USA
- Phone
- 6034367100
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Community Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $443,517
- Expenses
- $371,639
- Assets
- $554,217
- Liabilities
- $4,074
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LAURIE MELANSON (PRESIDENT)
- COLBY SPLAINE (VICE PRESIDENT)
- HEIDI CHASE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- HEIDI CHASE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $88,560 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To enhance the lives of people with developmental disabilities by creating inclusive social and recreational activities.
What it reported doing in 2025
Friends in action is about friendship, laughter, companionship, fun, and community connections. Everything that we all want in our lives to make us happy. The goal is to have people who might otherwise be very isolated have real, meaningful friendships, places to go, things to do and people to meet. To have something and someone to look forward to. Friends in action currently serves about 180 people with developmental disabilities. Over 200 people volunteer during the year. Friends in action added a new program in 2015. On mondays and tuesdays, participants volunteer at echo thrift shop alongside unh students and community members. Participants love this opportunity because it is very social while volunteering in a fun environment with many different types of people. Programs: zoom programs: weekly zoom program are offered including disney sing-a-long, trivia and movement.wildcat friends wildcat friends gives young adults with developmental disabilities a college experience. The goal is for young adults with disabilities to experience college in a meaningful and stimulating way that allows them to interact and make friends with one another and college students, discover a lifelong love of learning, and to have an experience that is typical of their peers. A typical day at wildcat friends includes a theater class, a recreation activity, a meal at a dining hall, and an educational class geared towards the specific interests of participants. Each semester, over 100 students from various departments and dorms volunteer, making this an exceptional collaborative learning experience.theater classthe end of the semester theater production is a highlight of each semester at wildcat friends. After three months of practice, participants put on a show for family, friends and unh students. Each show is unique, with participants picking their favorite songs to work with. Theater is more than just acting, song and dance, however. Theater helps participants with self-confidence, speech and communication skills. Some participants are more talkative and interactive with family members and friends since becoming involved in theater.basketball club basketball club was the first program started by friends in action in 2000. It is a favorite for many and some people have been playing for 17 years. No matter what abilities participants bring to the court, the games are all about passing, teamwork and supporting each other for fun pick-up style games.bowling clubbowling club meets twice per month on the first and third thursday. Participants bowl, socialize and encourage each other. Bowling takes place at bowl-o-rama in portsmouth from 6:00-7:30. Participants bowl as many games as possible during this time.friday night socialfriday night social is a gathering of young people from many different area towns. Participants play basketball, dance to music provided by a dj, make craft projects, play games, eat pizza and socialize. University of New Hampshire students volunteer regularly. Friday night social is friends in action's most popular program, with 60-80 people participating regularly.movie clubeveryone enjoys laughing, crying, getting scared, being inspired and being entertained together. Movie club is just the place. Twice a month a group of young adults meet at the local movie theater on the second and fourth tuesday to enjoy a good movie and some popcorn together. Echo thrift shopon mondays and tuesdays, friends in action is in charge of running echo thrift shop, a local business owned and run by the community church of durham. Almost 40 participants volunteer each week alongside unh students and community members. It's a great way to meet new people, make new friends, learn new skills and have a social experience.arts and games clubevery tuesday participants come to either play board or card games or they come to make art projects. There are about 30 participants who take part in this club every week. Music expressionevery thursday a group of
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 75% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 61
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 74
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 59.5%; rating input score 60
- Program expense ratio: 68.7%; rating input score 69
- Fundraising efficiency: $10.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 16.2%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.49; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 23.8%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 59.5% of revenue deployed · 68.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $255K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $89K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2013 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 38/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.