Ethos
Legal name: Southwest Boston Senior Services Inc D/b/a Ethos
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237304163
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Jamaica Plain, MA, United States
- Phone
- 617.522.6700
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Senior Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $62,410,538
- Expenses
- $60,730,330
- Assets
- $26,919,557
- Liabilities
- $9,670,195
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
21 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LOREN SINGER (CEO FROM APR. 2025)
- VALERIE K FRIAS (CEO THROUGH SEP. 2024)
- NICOLA FAVORITO (PRESIDENT)
- TOM COHAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- RAYMOND SANTOS (CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $176,595 total reported compensation
- VALERIE K FRIAS (CEO THROUGH SEP. 2024): $175,363 total reported compensation
- RICHARD KRUZEL (CFO): $150,132 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Ethos is a private, not-for-profit organization that promotes the independence, dignity, and well-being of the elderly and disabled. Ethos achieves its mission through the coordination and delivery of high-quality, affordable home and community-based care. In all aspects of its work Ethos supports family caregiving, fosters social interaction and respects cultural diversity.
What it reported doing in 2024
Home care - the purchased services component permits the organization to subcontract with area providers for various home care services for the elderly. The case management component provides for administrative support of the home care program.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 73% 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
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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 78
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 93.9%; rating input score 94
- Program expense ratio: 96.5%; rating input score 96
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- 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; 77th 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: 2.7%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site
- Where the money goes: 93.9% of revenue deployed · 96.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $58.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $177K · 21 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 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.
- 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.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.