Wonderlab

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811849273
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2016
Location
Redlands, CA, USA
Phone
9097357654
Rating
71
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Rehabilitative Medical Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,890,782
Expenses
$3,077,492
Assets
$1,623,070
Liabilities
$23,622

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • RHONDA NELSON (CHAIR OF THE BOARD): $155,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to be a catalyst for belonging through scientific intervention and meaningful play. Our primary mission is to provide physical, occupational and speech therapy services to children aged newborn-18 years of age with a variety of developmental disabilities and/or orthopedic issues. We have expanded to also provide limited services to adults who have struggled to find needed therapy. Our three tenets are therapy, education and research.

What it reported doing in 2025

Wonderlab 2025 strategic planning goals1. Program expansion & developmentlaunch four new programs: community health worker (chw) program: by year end chw will have a full caseload and streamlined policies and procedures to provide intake, follow up, discharge, and billing. New support staff will be hired and wonderlab office space will be created/modified to support privacy for family interviews. Swallow competency & slp guidelines: complete swallow competency training for one speech-language pathologist (slp) and establish formal onboarding guidelines for future slp staff by dec. 2025. Aac lending library: by the end of 2025, wonderlab will have a fully functional lending library for augmentative and alternative communication (aac) devices. By the end of may 2025 the library will have all resources and devices stocked and catalogued for use. By july, there will be a written plan on who, how and for how long each lender has access to the devices and how tracking will occur. Wonderlab university: host one ceu certified continuing education course in collaboration with local universities (co-lab) at wonderlab for staff and community therapists. All staff (who have been with wl for at least 12 months) will complete the "braving the wilderness" leadership modules to enhance organizational style leadership skills by the end of 2025.2. Funding & resource development secure new funding: apply for two new funding sources to support the growth and sustainability of wonderlab programs. Scholarship program: create and launch a scholarship program utilizing new funding opportunities that become available. This could include free services for children needing aac independent of type of insurance. Consider partnering with a local church to wipe out medical debt. 3. Increased service delivery & billing targetsachieve weekly visit & billing goals: complete an average of 450 visits per week and achieve a weekly billing average of 950 units throughout the new year. Target a total of 23,400 visits for the year, representing an increase of 7,400 visits compared to 2024, to meet the organization's growth objectives.these goals are aimed at promoting organizational growth, improving operational efficiency, enhancing professional development, and fostering new community-centered programs, all while expanding service capacity and financial sustainability.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.5%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 96.9%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.9%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 28.2% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.5% of revenue deployed · 96.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $155K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.