The Help Group West

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954750066
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sherman Oaks, CA, USA
Phone
8187810360
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,714,696
Expenses
$15,612,310
Assets
$21,789,828
Liabilities
$1,531,526

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SUSAN BERMAN PH D (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • SHAYNE MATTHEW HORAN (VICE PRESIDENT OF SCHOOLS)

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSAN BERMAN PH D (PRESIDENT & CEO): $446,493 total reported compensation
  • OSCAR VALADEZ (CFO): $323,108 total reported compensation
  • PAMELA CLARK MA (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS): $238,240 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See form 990, part iii, line 4a

What it reported doing in 2024

The help group west operates two state certified private special education day schools: summit view west offers comprehensive elementary, middle and secondary school programs for students with learning differences. Summit view west includes westview, a program designed for students' grades 6-12 with emotional challenges who are capable of graduating from high school and attending college. Thg west provides comprehensive day school programs for students with challenges related to socialization, communication, language development, and peer relations. Many of the students at village glen have special needs related to autism spectrum disorder, autism, anxiety and non-verbal learning disabilities. Students are referred by various local school districts and other governmental agencies, as well as by private referral.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 94% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 90.6%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 0.7%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.4; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.5%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90% of revenue deployed · 90.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $446K · 18 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.1M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors 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: 6 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.