Help Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
346576350
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone
2164324810
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,594,703
Expenses
$1,342,355
Assets
$1,217,646
Liabilities
$50,679

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

Leadership & pay

26 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)

Highest reported compensation

  • TAMARA HONKALA (PRESIDENT / CEO): $409,819 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

Help, inc. Serves individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities in two group home settings. These homes emphasize attainment of personal and life skills to build confidence and the ability to transition to independent living.

What it reported doing in 2025

Help, inc. Operates the kohn and zborowsky homes in cleveland heights, Ohio. Opened in 2000, these homes were custom-built for accessibility and ease-of-service while maintaining a homey, family atmosphere. These homes provide resident individuals with the support and services theyrequire to develop their independence and manage their disabilities. It is the goal of help, inc. To empower all residents to live their best life and realize their potential through assisted independent living. The staff at help, inc. Provides assistance with daily living to help individuals achieve the highest quality of life possible by enhancing current capabilities through hands-on learning.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.1%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.8%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.91; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.6%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.1% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $410K · 26 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.