Merrimack Valley YMCA

Legal name: Merrimack Valley Young Men's Christian Association Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042104378
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lawrence, MA, USA
Phone
978-651-3409
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Youth Development – Religious Leadership
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$24,841,780
Expenses
$22,737,648
Assets
$48,442,030
Liabilities
$20,766,185

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • FRANCIS J KENNEALLY III (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • FRANCIS J KENNEALLY III (CEO): $335,956 total reported compensation
  • CATHLEEN LANDRY (CFO): $227,469 total reported compensation
  • CLAUDIA J SOO HOO (COO): $226,617 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To strengthen our communities by putting our core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility into action through programs and services that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all. Merrimack Valley YMCA members in Andover Membership Dues Membership dues help sustain the YMCA’s day-to-day operations and ensure our facilities and services remain available to the community. To expand access and deliver on our mission, the Merrimack Valley YMCA actively secures grants and engages donors through annual campaigns and events. These philanthropic efforts make it possible to provide financial assistance and support a wide range of programs that serve individuals and families across all income levels.

What it reported doing in 2024

Youth development - through camps, child care, youth programming, swim lessons, and teen leadership development, and jobs the y impacts the lives of thousands of young people. Unique outdoor experiences are offered at our three camp locations, giving children, teens and young adults a transformational experience to learn skills, build confidence, and create positive relationships. More than 750 children participate in daily child care and after-school programs where the ymca provides an enriching environment that is built for learning and growing in a safe, supportive space. External partnerships in the community provide over 500 children with outdoor education, thousands of swim lessons, and kindergarten and school readiness support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 72% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Liabilities are high compared with assets and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.2%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 86.9%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $31.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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; 66th 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: 8.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.13; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.2%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 79.2% of revenue deployed · 86.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $19.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $336K · 32 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.9M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.