Needham Community Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042121365
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Needham, MA, USA
Phone
7814442415
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,352,547
Expenses
$1,339,972
Assets
$5,349,036
Liabilities
$41,896

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHLEEN BERNER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • LINDA FARLEY (PRESIDENT)
  • SANDRA ROBINSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LYNN ALBERDING (PAST-PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SANDRA ROBINSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $135,500 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The needham community council is a private non-profit organization which supports people in needham who have under-met health, educational or social needs and promotes volunteerism, community and a sense of shared responsibility.

What it reported doing in 2024

-free english learning for people who live and work in needham-trained ell volunteers help adult learners at all levels from all over the world. Tutors help students who are new to the us learn english and adjust to the challenges of living in their new culture. Successful tutors are welcoming, patient, flexible and able to work with a variety of different people. In addition, volunteers should be fluent english speakers and familiar with american culture. Volunteers attend a fall or spring training series that prepares them to work with ell learners. After completing the training, the tutors are placed with a student whose schedule matches their own. Pairs then meet regularly once a week, focusing on the student's particular needs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.9%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.3%; rating input score 97; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 84.2%; rating input score 84; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.9%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.99; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.1%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.9% of revenue deployed · 86.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 19 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $136K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 29 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.