Meryls Safe Haven Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 921498053
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- Worcester, MA, USA
- Phone
- 5083046158
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Homeless Shelters
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,418,585
- Expenses
- $1,637,730
- Assets
- $729,366
- Liabilities
- $587,904
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TASIA CEREZO (PRESIDENT & CEO)
- CRICKET POTTER (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- TASIA CEREZO (PRESIDENT & CEO): $132,051 total reported compensation
- MARISOL CEREZO (CLERK): $108,171 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Meryl's safe haven, inc. (msh) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing and connecting families and young people who have aged out of the foster care system with shelter and resources in our community and beyond. We focus on the whole person for holistic support to address the underlying issues. Msh aims to be an impetus for change that recognizes humanity and the importance of community through support in providing financial budgeting and management, identifying childcare and mental health resources, education, and workforce development opportunities, while meeting the basic needs of food, safety, and shelter. Our mission is to level the field of opportunity for those who enter our doors.
What it reported doing in 2025
On january 26, 2024, meryl's safe haven opened its doors to families in crisis through the safety net shelter program, providing emergency accommodations in partnership with local organizations including united way of Massachusetts bay, seven hills foundation, united way of central Massachusetts, and catholic charities worcester county. This rapid response partnership demonstrated msh's capacity to address urgent, unmet needs in our community. From january 26, 2024, to may 23, 2025, this initiative supported 137 people, including 34 families; 28 children age five and under; 47 children ages 6-18; and 62 adults as heads of household. After staying with safety net, 24 families transitioned to other emergency assistance (ea) shelter placements; nine exited to non-ea placements; and one transferred to another safety net facility. The program was honored by worcester city council during national public health week. This program closed out 06/01/2025. Please use the area below to provide any additional information you think we may need or questions you would like to discuss.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 92% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 72
- Sustainability: 14
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 92.5%; rating input score 92
- Program expense ratio: 81.3%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $17.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -15.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.81; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.7%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 26% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -5.1% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -52.2% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 92.5% of revenue deployed · 81.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $132K · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.