Building Healthy Families
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
The primary exempt purpose of Building Healthy Families is to promote the success of young children in school and in life. We do this by raising the capacity of their parents and other caregivers to provide the nurture required to support healthy brain development. We do this in four ways: The BrightStart Family Workshop is a free, 8-week experience for the whole family that happens on Saturday mornings during the Spring and Fall. It is staffed by community volunteers. We provide a community garden for families. We bring the Imagination Playground to town events that serve young children at no charge. Using the playground promotes social, cognitive, emotional and physical health for children. We provide Circle of Security Parenting groups to help parents build and support secure attachment with their children.
- Income
- $81,424
- Spending
- $82,757
- Reserves
- 4.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 99%
- Highest pay
- $26,622, executive director
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Fair: 69 out of 100. Higher than 34% of charities in its peer group (education, under $250k).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 4.1 months of spending.
Debt
20 of 20It owes 2% of what it owns.
Living within its means
8 of 15Spending exceeded income by 2% of income.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
This organization files the short tax form, which does not ask about boards, policies or audits. That is normal for a small charity and is not a mark against it.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Impact evidence
Describes programs. Its tax return describes what it does but we have found no measurable results in it.
Programs described in its return (4)
- $37,117 spent. BrightStart For Families Workshop In addition to what parents are taught, they and their children receive the following: Nutritious Meals. Breakfast and lunch are provided for participating families and volunteers. Resources. Parents receive: age appropriate children's books, a craft kit, toys, safety items, diapers, and other items supporting good nutrition and health (a cookbook emphasizing cooking from simple, nutritious and inexpensive ingredients, information about seasonal vegetables and fruit, etc.). We offer 'thank you' gifts to encourage attendance during and at the conclusion of the workshop. We also provide information about other available community resources. We have begun offering the Ages and Stages developmental s screening to families. Play and Learn. An enriched play and learning experience for children (age 2 through 8) using the Imagination Playground, arts and crafts, and story time. An infant and toddler nursery is provided for the youngest children. A dedicated, background checked, trained and supervised staff oversees the children's program. Community. We accept each family as they are and encourage their growth with love and support throughout the workshop. Parents are welcomed as guests, not clients, into a positive, encouraging environment, free of judgment. We affirm parent's positive intentions and address their questions and concerns with respect. The entire family participates together. Fathers and mothers learn about the importance of their unique roles. We find fathers especially enjoy the science or evidence-based nature of the talks. We intentionally promote a sense of community through every aspect of the workshop, including the use of adult style learning and parent discussion that build a mutually supportive and encouraging atmosphere. Parents realize they are 'in it together' with other parents of young children and their shared struggles. Our volunteers are intentional in their positive regard for our participants and their children. Sharing meals is important for creating community that can support parent's motivation for personal growth. Further, the positive experiences of families leads consistently to positive word-of-mouth promotion. We agree with this quote from John McKnight from his book, Abundant Community: "Building strong neighborhoods becomes a matter of everybody contributing as many of their gifts as they can to each other and to the whole." Number of Persons Served BHF has served over 300 parents, nearly 300 children from 200 families through BrightStart For Families. In Manchester, about 500 children are born each year that will enter the local schools. Our vision is to expand our capacity to reach more families in Manchester through our workshop. Expected Outcomes Quantified, positive outcomes resulting from the BrightStart Workshop have been independently documented. The Urban Alliance Network designed and analyzed an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of BrightStart at raising indicators of family well-being. The evaluation measured participant satisfaction and perceived outcomes using their pre/post survey tool. The most recent analysis was completed in July 2020. To quote from their analysis, "BrightStart workshops increases parenting self-efficacy. Parenting self-efficacy refers to a person's belief that they will be successful in their role as a parent (Jones & Prinz, 2005). Research has linked higher levels of parenting self-efficacy to a wide range of positive child outcomes. Therefore, many parenting interventions aim to provide information and skills that will increase parent's self-efficacy. The results of this evaluation suggest that participation in BrightStart workshops resulted in a statistically significant increase in parenting self-efficacy. This means that parents who completed the workshop series felt more confident in their ability to manage challenging parenting situations. Additionally, 100% of participating parents indicated on their post- test that they felt more confident in their parenting abilities directly as a result of their participation in the workshops. BrightStart workshops impact parenting practices, attitudes, and values. Data collected about parenting practices suggest that participation in BrightStart workshops resulted in an increase in the number of days each week parents read to their children and prepared meals at home, and a decrease in the number of days each week children had temper tantrums. Further, pre- and post-test data suggest that participants evidenced changes in attitudes and values that are in alignment with the content of the BrightStart curriculum. For example, statistically significant and nearly significant findings indicate that after attending BrightStart workshops parents felt more aligned with regards to their parenting strategies, that it is more important to do things their child enjoys, more important for children to have down time, more important that children eat a variety of healthy foods, and had clearer parenting goals. This suggests that participation in BrightStart workshops results in both attitude and behavior changes related to parenting." Parents are satisfied with BrightStart workshops. Data were collected about participant's experiences and satisfaction with the workshop. Across the board, participants were quite satisfied with the BrightStart workshop. Mean scores indicate that on average participants agreed or strongly agreed with each question. Areas of particular strength included the facilities and accommodations, the volunteers who worked with the children, and the speaker's knowledge and use of technology. Further, post-test questions about the impact of the workshops suggest that in addition to having a positive experience parents felt they were positively impacted in a number of different ways. Notably, 100% of participants reported that as a result of the workshop series they better understand how important their job is as a parent.
- $23,518 spent. Community Garden - Families with young children participate in our community garden. The purpose of the community garden is to promote good nutrition and build community among families. We provide raised bed garden boxes, water tanks, gardening tools and supplies, instruction and mentoring, and play features at the garden so children can play while their parents tend to their garden. The grant was used to build a pavilion at the community garden.
- $1,331 spent. Circle of Security Parenting Circle of Security is an internationally acclaimed, 8-week video-base curriculum that helps parents and care-givers build a secure attachment with their children. It is a relationship-based (rather than behavioral) parenting program. We began offering Circle of Security Parenting classes in 2016.
- $2,867 spent. Imagination Playground The Imagination Playground is an innovative play space that is comprised of large blue blocks that invite child-directed, creative play. It supports social, emotional, cognitive and motor skill development.
Source: Form 990EZ for the year ending December 31, 2024, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Legitimacy checks
Is it registered with the IRS? Passed.
Listed in the IRS master file of tax-exempt organizations as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Has the IRS revoked its tax-exempt status? Passed.
Not on the IRS automatic revocation list.
Source: Automatic revocation of exemption list, Internal Revenue Service, file dated November 6, 2026.
Are donations tax-deductible? Passed.
On the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
Source: Publication 78 data: organizations eligible for tax-deductible contributions, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it keeping up with its IRS filings? Passed.
Most recent return on file covers the year ending December 2025.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
How long has it been tax-exempt? Passed.
Recognized by the IRS since July 2010.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Is it in good standing with state regulators? Passed.
Not on California's list of charities barred from soliciting. Other states are not yet checked.
Source: May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes list, California Attorney General, Registry of Charities and Fundraisers, file dated November 4, 2026.
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