The May Institute Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 042197449
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Randolph, MA, USA
- Phone
- 7814400400
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Mental Health Treatment F31 Psychiatric, Mental Health Hospital
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $163,914,482
- Expenses
- $160,496,080
- Assets
- $108,139,602
- Liabilities
- $62,025,669
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
29 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LAUREN SOLOTAR (PRESIDENT & CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- LAUREN SOLOTAR (PRESIDENT & CEO): $698,235 total reported compensation
- DEBRA BLAIR (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $513,947 total reported compensation
- MICHAEL TOBIN (TREASURER, CFO (UNTIL 12/28/24)): $378,089 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
May institute proudly serves individuals across the lifespan with autism, developmental disabilities, intellectual disabilities, neurological disorders, and behavior disorders to promote independence, choice, dignity, and respect. See schedule o.we provide compassionate and caring educational, therapeutic, habilitative, and consulting services grounded in evidence-based practice.may institute is committed to excellence in specialized services through training, research, and the highest level of professional expertise to meet the broad range of needs in individuals, families, schools, and communities.
What it reported doing in 2024
May institute is one of the largest providers in the commonwealth of Massachusetts of private special education schools specifically serving children, adolescents, and young adults with autism spectrum disorder (asd), developmental disabilities, brain injury, and neurobehavioral disorders. All our may center schools offer full-day, year-round educational services based on best practices from the fields of applied behavior analysis (aba) and special education. Students receive highly individualized behavioral, academic, and vocational programming. They are surrounded by caring, highly trained professionals seeking to improve the quality of life of the individuals in their care.our four may center schools for autism and developmental disabilities in Massachusetts are chapter 766-approved private schools that focus on building communication, social, behavioral, vocational, and academic skills. We base our programs on aba, which has been shown through hundreds of scientific studies to be the most effective method to teach children and adolescents with autism and other developmental disabilities.our may center school for brain injury and neurobehavioral disorders in Massachusetts serves students with a broad range of neurobehavioral challenges. These include brain injury, genetic or chromosomal disorders, seizure disorders, mood disorders, and intellectual and neurodevelopmental disorders. The school is one of only a handful of pediatric programs in the u.s. That focus on both education and rehabilitation. About half of the students who attend two of our schools (in randolph and norwood, ma) also receive residential services through community-based group homes. These services focus on helping children and adolescents strengthen and generalize independent living skills, and are designed in accordance with each child's individualized educational plan. Our highly skilled staff provide 24-hour support and supervision to ensure that each child's unique needs are met.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 98% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 97
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 37
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 88.2%; rating input score 88
- Program expense ratio: 89.8%; rating input score 90
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 6 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Pass
- 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; 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: 2.1%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.67; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.57; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.4%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 88.2% of revenue deployed · 89.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $144.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $698K · 29 people listed · 6 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.8M reported
- Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 11 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: 14 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 5 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.
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 9/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.