WATCH Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222918528
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Waltham, MA, USA
Phone
7818916689
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,166,556
Expenses
$1,228,512
Assets
$740,035
Liabilities
$256,511

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Daria Gere (Executive Director)
  • Ken Rabinoff-Goldman (Co-President)
  • Gricelda Lamour (Co-President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Daria Gere (Executive Director): $101,723 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

WATCH CDC works towards a more just community in the Waltham area by promoting increased access to affordable housing, providing adult education & leadership development, and empowering underrepresented residents through civic engagement.

What it reported doing in 2024

Housing programs: Housing case management serving 600 Waltham households each year. Tenant support includes free, walk-in help with applying for public housing, housing searches trainings support during an eviction process, assistance in finding emergency housing, and applying for funds for rental assistance. Non housing related support includes assistance in applying for benefits such as utility and financial assistance and referrals for health care, legal aid, and immigration assistance. Coordinate with Waltham Public Schools to identify and assist families with school age children at risk of homelessness. Coordinate with other social service agencies that offer supports in housing and basic needs with monthly inter-agency meetings.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.5%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: 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: -5.3%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.6; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.3%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.5% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.5% of revenue deployed · 84.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $102K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.