West Seattle Helpline

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943110310
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2019
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2068013294
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$474,328
Expenses
$640,484
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Nick Naubert (President)
  • Joe Everett (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Erin Dury Moore (Executive Dir.): $70,892 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Rent and Utility Assistance: We keep West Seattle and White Center residents safely housed through short-term funding for rent, deposits, and utilities. Bus Tickets: We get our neighbors where they need to go with one-month booklets of bus tickets. The Clothesline: We run the largest all-ages clothing bank in the Seattle metropolitan area. Every three months, our neighbors can pick up clothing for children and adults, including shoes, coats, and professional attire. The Hotline: We connect our neighbors to local, vetted resources for employment, housing, healthcare, and more.

What it reported doing in 2019

Merger: In February 2020, the West Seattle Helpline merged with the West Seattle Food Bank. The West Seattle Food Bank provides food security and community connections to neighbors in need. The mission and services provided by the two organizations are similar. On 2/29/2020, the West Seattle Food Bank assumed all assets and outstanding liabilities of the West Seattle Helpline.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 87% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 8
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st 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; 79th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -35%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.1%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -4.8% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -59% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 79.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $508K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $71K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2017 to 2019
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.