Help Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
341617051
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Euclid, OH, USA
Phone
2164324810
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Residential Care & Adult Day Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$14,571,143
Expenses
$14,337,986
Assets
$25,178,153
Liabilities
$2,026,728

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL C BRINK (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • PETER J HENRY (PRESIDENT)
  • KELLY BULLOCK DOUGHERTY (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • TAMARA HONKALA (PRESIDENT / CEO)
  • SUSAN BERNEIKE (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • TAMARA HONKALA (PRESIDENT / CEO): $409,819 total reported compensation
  • SUSAN BERNEIKE (VICE PRESIDENT): $228,317 total reported compensation
  • BELINDA GRASSI (CHIEF FINANCE OFFICER): $217,016 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 ensure individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the homes, environments, and opportunities to be valued members of our community. We serve this mission by providing housing and supportive services to individuals throughout our service area so that they can build their life-skills and confidence to live life to their fullest potential.

What it reported doing in 2025

Adult day support & vocational training programs - allows those with disabilities to work and volunteer in their own community. Work and recreation activities are centered around individual interests and help foundation works diligently to find opportunities that match the interest, talents, and special abilities of those we serve. Vocational training programs take a more in-depth look at career pathways for individuals who are considering community-based employment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 94% 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.6%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.76; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.9% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $11.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $410K · 31 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $177K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.