Hawthorne Foundation Inc

The information for Hawthorne Foundation Inc is as of the organization's most recent filing in June '21. This organization is located in Hawthorne, NY. It has been in existence for 31 years, following its founding in 1990.

Organization Classification

The IRS classifies organizations according to the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) system. The NTEE system helps the IRS assign a 3-character code to each organization to describe the organization's activities.

The Hawthorne Foundation Inc's NTEE code is B28. The "B" tells us that the organization is classified under Education. The "28" tells us that the organization is specifically focused on Special Education. The NTEE describes Special Education organizations as those that provide educational services, including special placement and individualized programming, instruction, and support services for children and youth who are gifted or have disabilities and require modified curricula, teaching methodologies, and instructional materials in order to learn.

Every organization is also governed by a specific section of the Internal Revenue Code. This organization happens to fall under section 3 of the Internal Revenue Code. The IRS describes organizations in this section as those engaged in Religious, Educational, Charitable, Scientific, Literary, Testing for Public Safety, to Foster National or International Amateur Sports Competition, or Prevention of Cruelty to Children or Animals work.

Perhaps the most accurate way to understand the goals of the organization is by looking at its mission. The Hawthorne Foundation Inc's mission is to provide educational, habilitation, vocational, self-direction, and residential programs for individuals with autism and developmental disabilities.

Program Areas

Program Area 1: The school program offered by the Hawthorne Foundation Inc. (HFI) provides education, early intervention, school-age, and preschool programs for children with autism and severe developmental disabilities. These programs utilize the methodology of applied behavior analysis. During the period from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021, HFI provided a total of 43,464 care days for school-age students and 13,047 care days for preschool students. In addition to education, HFI also offered related services such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and counseling to students referred by school districts in the Lower Hudson Valley and the City of New York.

Program Area 2: The Day and Residential Habilitation Programs provide services to adults with autism and severe developmental disabilities in lifelong care and services. For the period July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, the organization provided 9,750 units of residential services and 14,454 units of day habilitation services. The revenues for day habilitation services were $2,218,993 and incurred $2,117,999 in expenses. The revenues for residential services were $4,487,619 and incurred $3,833,339 in expenses.

Program Area 3: HFI provides fiscal intermediary services to individuals and their families and/or advocates to manage self-direction budgets and staff. Self-direction services give individuals with disabilities the flexibility to choose the mix of supports and services that are right for them and take more control over the funding used to purchase their services. For the period July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, HFI served 101 individuals and billed 1,081 units in FI fees.

Program Area 4: The agency provides respite services to individuals and their families and/or advocates, offering temporary relief from the demands of caregiving for individuals with developmental disabilities. In addition, the program supports parent education, mobile crisis assistance, and Saturday respite and recreation activities for families. The program also receives supplemental income and nutrition assistance for individuals with disabilities.

Organization Staffing

Hawthorne Foundation Inc is run by Gail Nachimson, who is the Executive Director. The organization has 504 employees, with 13 of them being paid over $100k per year. Supporting the paid staff are 50 volunteers.

Board Governance

The Hawthorne Foundation Inc appears to be well-governed based on the information provided. The organization has a total of 9 voting members, all of whom are independent. This ensures that decision-making within the organization is not influenced by any potential conflicts of interest. The absence of conflicts of interest further strengthens the governance of the organization. The organization also demonstrates good governance practices by documenting both board and committee meetings. This documentation helps to ensure transparency and accountability within the organization. Additionally, the presence of a conflict of interest policy, which requires disclosure of conflicts, further emphasizes the organization's commitment to ethical conduct. Furthermore, the Hawthorne Foundation Inc has implemented several policies that contribute to effective governance. These include a written whistleblower policy, a document retention policy, and a process to substantiate and review leadership and officer salaries. These policies help to safeguard the organization's integrity and ensure responsible financial management. Lastly, the organization provides copies of the 990 form, which contains financial information, to the board prior to filing. This practice allows the board to review and assess the organization's financial performance, promoting transparency and accountability. Overall, the Hawthorne Foundation Inc demonstrates strong governance practices through its independent board members, documented meetings, conflict of interest policy, and various other policies and procedures. These practices contribute to the organization's effective and ethical management.

Organization Growth

The Hawthorne Foundation Inc, a nonprofit organization, has experienced growth over the given time period. Contributions and grants received decreased from $685.8K in 2014 to $386.3K in 2020. However, program service revenue increased from $18.1M in 2014 to $24.4M in 2020. Investment income decreased slightly from $16.8K in 2014 to $15.1K in 2020, while other revenue increased from $7.9K in 2014 to $20.4K in 2020. Overall, total revenue increased from $18.8M in 2014 to $24.8M in 2020. Employee salaries also increased from $12.6M in 2014 to $18.7M in 2020. Additionally, the organization saw an increase in total expenses from $18.8M in 2014 to $24.5M in 2020. The number of employees also grew from 410 in 2014 to 504 in 2020, while the number of volunteers remained the same at 50.