Helix Human Services Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042105939
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Springfield, MA, USA
Phone
4137395626
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Group Homes

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,316,154
Expenses
$11,486,806
Assets
$7,657,664
Liabilities
$2,555,709

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • THOMAS DUKE (PRESIDENT)
  • ED GARIBIAN (FIRST VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DENIS GAGNON (PRESIDENT EMERITAS)
  • MARK PAGLIA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARK PAGLIA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $162,462 total reported compensation
  • MONIQUE VASQUEZ (CHIEF FINANCIAL/ADMINISTRA): $132,600 total reported compensation
  • YAMILCA NOGUE (CHIEF RELATIONS OFFICER): $122,400 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Helix human services is dedicated to partnering with families by providing innovative and educational programs and services that strengthen children and families; empowering them to succeed at home, within the community, and throughout life.

What it reported doing in 2024

These growing programs reflect our commitment to "building healthy families". We believe that family is the center of a child's life experience, and that whenever possible, preservation of the family unit should be supported. This array of parent education, family support, stabilization, and visitation services help families address problems that are destabilizing to the family and/or putting a child at risk for out of home placement. Our effective, intensive interventions are designed to keep children safe and strengthen family units. Foster care services are also provided to ensure that children in need of out of home placements have access to families who can develop close relationships and provide a strong substitute environment. Our consistent success in keeping families intact and the community is reflected in the most important way, by families who don't become statistics.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 67
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.2%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 81.5%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.5%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.67; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.2% of revenue deployed · 81.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $9.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $162K · 23 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $275K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 1/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.