Help Community Development Corporation
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
Points to look into
- Only 38% of its spending went to programs.
These come from the organization's own tax return. There may be a good explanation; ask the charity.
What it says it does
H.E.L.P. Community Development Corp. (H.E.L.P. CDC) is a HUD-approved nonprofit housing counseling agency rooted in the historic Eatonville community of Central Florida. Our mission is to achieve community wholeness and help families live prosperously through affordable housing counseling, homebuyer education, economic development, and homeownership. H.E.L.P. CDC delivers HUD-approved one-on-one counseling and group education offered in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole across five core program areas: pre- and post-purchase homebuyer education, foreclosure intervention counseling, reverse mortgage (HECM) counseling, heirs' property and estate planning education, and affordable housing development. The agency's reach varies by program: homebuyer education and counseling serve the local Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area, foreclosure intervention is offered statewide across Florida, and reverse mortgage (HECM) counseling is provided nationally. Financial capability is woven through
- Income
- $757,883
- Spending
- $634,280
- Spent on programs
- 39%
- Reserves
- -0.1 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 59%
- Employees
- 12
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Financial health
Weak: 35 out of 100. Higher than 7% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
0 of 35Spendable reserves are negative: it owes or has committed more than it holds.
Debt
5 of 20It owes 57% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 16% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 12% on the year before.
Spending floor
0 of 1538% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 0 cents.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Rating method 2026.2. How we rate
Governance
Weak: 22 out of 100. Higher than 1% of charities in its peer group (community improvement, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
5 of 250 of 8 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
0 of 15Reports no written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
0 of 8Reports no written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
0 of 7Reports no written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
0 of 5Reports that it does not keep minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
0 of 10Did not give the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Independent check of accounts
6 of 15Its accounts were not audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.
No reported misuse
10 of 10Reports no diversion of assets, excess benefits or loans to insiders.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 (5)
- $244,165 spent. Pre- and Post-Purchase Homebuyer Education & Counseling: H.E.L.P. CDC provides HUD-approved pre- and post-purchase homebuyer education workshops and one-on-one counseling to low- and moderate-income individuals and families working toward sustainable, affordable homeownership in Central Florida. Pre-purchase services prepare clients for the homebuying process through mortgage readiness, credit building, household budgeting, understanding loan products, and navigation of down payment assistance programs. Post-purchase counseling supports homeowners after closing through financial management, home maintenance education, and non-delinquency support to protect their investment and sustain housing stability. During the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, H.E.L.P. CDC served 516 households through group homebuyer education workshops and 139 households through individual pre-purchase counseling sessions a combined total of 655 pre-purchase client interactions. An additional 100 households received both one-on-one counseling and group education services. H.E.L.P. CDC's pre- and post-purchase program serves a racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse client base, including a significant number of first-generation homebuyers, throughout the Orlando Metropolitan Statistical Area Orange, Seminole, Osceola, and Lake Counties and surrounding counties. To meet the needs of Central Florida's diverse communities, services are available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. This program is supported by HUD Housing Counseling grant funds and NeighborWorks America.
- Foreclosure Intervention Counseling: H.E.L.P. CDC provides HUD-approved foreclosure intervention counseling to homeowners statewide across Florida who are facing mortgage delinquency, default, or the imminent threat of foreclosure. H.E.L.P. CDC's model is rooted in intervention not prevention because the agency recognizes that by the time most homeowners seek help, a financial hardship has already occurred. The agency's trained, HUD-certified housing counselors engage directly alongside the homeowner to assess the situation and pursue every available workout option with their mortgage servicer or lender. Services include a comprehensive review of the homeowner's income, expenses, and mortgage status; identification of options such as loan modifications, repayment plans, forbearance agreements, and short sales; preparation of required lender documentation; and direct communication support throughout the loss mitigation process. During the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, H.E.L.P. CDC served 20 households facing forward mortgage delinquency or default and 2 households facing reverse mortgage delinquency or default. This program is supported by HUD Housing Counseling grant funds.
- Reverse Mortgage / HECM Counseling: H.E.L.P. CDC is a HUD-approved provider of Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) counseling commonly known as reverse mortgage counseling. Federal law requires that senior homeowners age 62 and older complete independent counseling with a HUD-approved agency before obtaining a reverse mortgage. As one of a limited number of HUD-approved agencies offering this service, H.E.L.P. CDC provides HECM counseling to clients nationally, extending the agency's reach well beyond its Central Florida home base. H.E.L.P. CDC's certified HECM counselors provide objective, lender-independent guidance ensuring each client fully understands the costs, obligations, alternatives, and long-term implications of a reverse mortgage before proceeding. During the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025, H.E.L.P. CDC served 105 households through HECM counseling sessions one of the agency's highest-volume service areas. Of those served, 15 households successfully obtained a HECM reverse mortgage following counseling, enabling senior homeowners to access home equity to support retirement security, healthcare, and long-term housing stability. Program costs are supported through HUD-approved HECM counseling fees.
- Linking Legacies: Heirs' Property & Estate Planning Education: H.E.L.P. CDC developed and operates Linking Legacies, a community education collaborative addressing one of the most critical and underrecognized threats to generational wealth and housing stability in low- and moderate-income communities: heirs' property. Heirs' property occurs when a homeowner dies without a will or proper estate plan, leaving title to a home unclear or legally entangled among surviving family members. This condition disproportionately affecting Black, Latino, and low-income households leaves families vulnerable to partition lawsuits, predatory investors, tax sales, and the involuntary loss of homes that have been in their families for generations. The Linking Legacies Collaborative brings together H.E.L.P. CDC and three legal partners who provide free legal assistance to program participants: the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association, Community Legal Services of Mid-Florida, and the Economic Justice Clinic at the Florida A&M University College of Law. A distinctive feature of the program is its fellowship model: law students from partner institutions serve as Linking Legacies Fellows, gaining hands-on experience in heirs' property law and community lawyering while extending H.E.L.P. CDC's capacity to reach more families. In accordance with HUD housing counseling requirements, Linking Legacies offers both 90-minute group information sessions and individual one-on-one counseling. Topics include how heirs' property occurs, the legal risks it creates, how to clear title, the importance of wills and estate plans, and how to access free legal assistance. To date, H.E.L.P. CDC has served at least 100 households directly through Linking Legacies and extends the program's reach further through community outreach, blog content, social media, and public speaking engagements. At its core, Linking Legacies is built on a simple conviction: making a plan for your family clearing your title, writing your will, securing your legacy is one of the most profound acts of love you can show the people you care about. H.E.L.P. CDC exists to make that act of love accessible to every family, regardless of income. This program has received support from the FAMU Foundation and Linking Legacies collaborative partners.
- Commit to Six: Financial Capability Framework: Commit to Six is H.E.L.P. CDC's trademarked financial capability framework proprietary intellectual property developed and owned by the agency. Rather than operating as a standalone class, Commit to Six is the financial education thread woven through every one of H.E.L.P. CDC's counseling and education services, reflecting the agency's belief that strong financial fundamentals benefit every household, whether renting or owning. The framework asks each client to commit to mastering six essential financial building blocks: (1) banking basics, (2) credit reports, (3) credit scores, (4) debt management, (5) housing stability, and (6) a spending and saving plan. H.E.L.P. CDC's conviction is straightforward if every family had these six fundamentals firmly in place, they would be more financially secure, more housing stable, and better positioned to pass financial knowledge down through the generations. What distinguishes Commit to Six is its hands-on, experiential teaching model. Many low-income households have never lived on a formal budget or learned these skills before. Rather than simply preparing a budget on a client's behalf, H.E.L.P. CDC counselors begin with an assessment to identify each client's blind spots across the six areas, then demonstrate and teach a concept, assign the client real work to complete on their own as homework, and review that completed work together at the next counseling appointment. This learning-by-doing approach ensures clients can actually apply these skills to their own lives the difference between being told a fact and working it through firsthand until it becomes their own. Because financial capability is integrated across all of H.E.L.P. CDC's services rather than counted as a separate activity, its impact is reflected throughout the agency's outcome data including the 255 households for whom counselors developed a customized budget plan and the 112 households that measurably improved their financial capacity through increased savings, reduced debt, or improved credit scores during the fiscal year ending September 30, 2025.
Source: Form 990 for the year ending December 31, 2025, 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 October 13, 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 December 2004.
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 October 21, 2026.
Could it be confused with another charity? Worth knowing.
A much larger organization has a similar name: Christian Community Development Corporation Inc (Memphis, TN), EIN 62-1797945. If that is the one you meant, check the EIN before giving.
Source: Exempt Organizations Business Master File, Internal Revenue Service, file dated October 13, 2026.
Ratings and checks are our reading of public records, using the published method. They are not a statement about anyone's honesty. If you work for this organization, you can send corrections or results, confirm you want gifts through Veridonate, or ask to be removed from giving.