Mending Matters

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464080792
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015, Form 990-N 2014
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
6199405165
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,533,669
Expenses
$3,656,709
Assets
$776,262
Liabilities
$152,732

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARIA ESTHER IZQUIERDO-HEMMEN (PRESIDENT/ ED)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIA ESTHER IZQUIERDO-HEMMEN (PRESIDENT/ ED): $160,448 total reported compensation
  • HALEY NICOLE PRESNELL (ADMINISTRATIVE DIRECTOR): $117,365 total reported compensation
  • MARIA JESSICA ROSAS (CONTROLLER): $116,721 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Engage, connect, and empower youth through mental health services. We believe that every youth deserves access to mental health support, and services should be accessible and adaptable to their needs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Mending matters provided direct mental health services to more than 1,300 students across middle and high schools, delivering over 3,500 individual, group, and crisis services. Students engaged in 8-10 session treatment cycles, with an average 82-84% completion of treatment goals, meeting benchmarks for effectiveness.through youth engagement and empowerment programs, over 10,000 students participated in community events, classroom presentations, and surveys, including 7,417 who accessed mental health awareness content. These programs increased student knowledge of available supports, with over 90% of participants reporting greater ability to manage challenges and identify resources.the pause program delivered prevention workshops to more than 1,400 students, focusing on stress management, boundaries, and communication. Post-workshop surveys showed that 91% of youth learned strategies to handle difficult situations and 96% knew how to access support. The life student leadership program trained nearly 100 youth advisors across schools, providing leadership development and peer support opportunities that strengthened student voice and engagement.family inclusion remained a core component, with more than 200 parent/guardian engagement meetings and workshops conducted, increasing family awareness of student needs and available resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 88% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 87%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -3.5%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.21; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.8% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 32.1% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.1% of revenue deployed · 87% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $160K · 9 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.