Childrens Grief Center of El Paso
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
THE CHILDREN'S GRIEF CENTER OF EL PASO CREATES COMPASSIONATE AND INCLUSIVE SPACES THAT PROMOTE HEALING AND WELL-BEING AMONG GRIEVING CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND THEIR FAMILIES THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED PEER GROUPS, INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY SERVICES, AND GRIEF-INFORMED EDUCATION AND ADVOCACY.
- Income
- $1.5 million
- Spending
- $615,438
- Spent on programs
- 80%
- Reserves
- 1.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 82%
- Employees
- 8
- Volunteers
- 45
- Highest pay
- $121,491, chief executive director
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
Good: 71 out of 100. Higher than 55% of charities in its peer group (mental health, $1m to $10m).
Reserves
10 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 1.7 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 18% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 60% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 275% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1580% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 2 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
Strong: 94 out of 100. Higher than 63% of charities in its peer group (mental health, $1m to $10m).
Independent board
25 of 2515 of 15 voting board members are independent.
Conflict of interest policy
15 of 15Has a written conflict of interest policy.
Whistleblower policy
8 of 8Has a written whistleblower policy.
Record keeping policy
7 of 7Has a written policy on keeping and destroying records.
Board minutes
5 of 5Keeps minutes of board meetings.
Board sees the tax return
10 of 10Gave the board a copy of this return before filing it.
Pay set independently
5 of 5Sets its chief executive's pay through independent review and comparison.
Independent check of accounts
9 of 15Its accounts were reviewed or compiled by an independent accountant, but not audited.
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 (1)
- $492,355 spent. Established in 1995, the Children's Grief Center (CGC) of El Paso continues to be the only non-profit agency in west Texas providing grief support and education services to bereaved children, youth, and families-the nearest similar service in Texas is located 586 miles away. CGC provides services to all youth (ages 3-25) and their caregivers who have experienced a death loss, irrespective of the circumstances of the death, the relationship of the child to the deceased, or any other special. Our mission is to compassionate and inclusive spaces that promote healing and well-being among grieving children, youth, and their families through community-based peer groups, individual and family services, and grief-informed education and advocacy. We believe that no child should grieve alone and that every child should have access to healing, health, and hope through grief-informed communities. CGC's services are aimed at mitigating the impact of Adverse Childhood Events (ACEs) and reducing the risk of mental health challenges among youth and their caregivers through grief support. In El Paso, it is estimated that nearly 1 in 10 children are affected by the death loss of a parent, the highest in Texas given several factors that affect our local border community. The loss of a loved one can affect a child physically, emotionally, behaviorally, and academically in both the long and short term. Unresolved grief in children place them at higher risk for anti-social behaviors, self-destructive behaviors, and chronic mental health disorders including depression, anxiety, avoidant personality, dependent personality, obsessive-compulsive personality disorders and suicide. 2025 was a banner year for CGC, as we purchased our first, permanent facility, Braden's Home of Hope, located at 2616 Montana in the centrally-located Five Points region of the city and county. The new space includes 4400 square feet of service area, with a full basement and four, outdoor therapeutic areas enclosed by fencing. The new campus more than doubles the amount of space available for service delivery at our leased location and includes eight indoor programming rooms suitable for the delivery of group and individual services. The facility was purchased in June2025, through the generous investment of community partners, and six months of renovations were followed by move-in on December 18. The new space will permit CGC to significantly expand services to more youth and families in 2026. In 2025, CGC served 515 individuals through our continuum of grief support, education, and therapy services. This continuum of services is organized into two programs: 1. Grief Support and Education; and 2. Grief Therapy. Services are provided at our Center, in school and at community-based locations, virtually, & via phone, removing barriers to access to care for all. Six (of the 7) services are housed in CGC's Grief Support & Education Program. First, CGC provides navigation (information, resource & screening) annually to approximately 290 individuals, recognizing needs for psychoeducation following death loss and wraparound support. Second, a licensed mental health therapist provides family-based Comprehensive Grief Assessment (to 179 in 2025) to offer guidance on a care plan. Third, most families participate in developmentally specific Peer Grief Support Groups, co-facilitated by staff and long-term, CGC-trained volunteers (largely with lived experience), to leverage support from shared experience and evidence-informed, structured activities. Peer support groups are delivered in multi-family group format (Family Group Night) and in specialty format (kinship caregivers, young child). Fourth, CGC provides a school-based, Grief Talks curriculum in partnership with regional school districts, (reaching 5 campuses and 130 caregivers and staff participants in 2025). Fifth, in 2025, CGC successfully completed the second annual Good Grief Camp, which served 72 individuals, bringing holistic activities provided in partnership with regional non-profits. Last, CGC provides grief-specific training and consultation upon request to school districts, community agencies, and governmental systems. CGC's Grief Therapy Program, launched in 2024, recognized the immense need to create access to evidence-based treatment services for youth and caregivers affected by prolonged and/or traumatic grief and expanded significantly during 2025. CGC's clinical team offers individual and family grief therapy, based on two evidence-based modalities, Multidimensional Grief Therapy (MGT) and Trauma & Grief Component Therapy (MGT). In 2025, CGC provided therapy to 82 youth and 12 adults. CGC also hired its first full-time therapist, as well as onboarding two Professional Clinical Interns to assist in the delivery of therapeutic services. Last, CGC expanded its Clinical Counseling program, incorporating two, masters' level student interns into service delivery and comprehensive support to families. CGC depends on a small staff that carries out our mission in partnership with a variety of volunteer groups as well as key community relationships. CGC provides in-depth training (15 didactic hours plus 15 experiential hours) to long-term community volunteers who assist in co-facilitating youth grief support groups. In 2025, the number of such volunteers doubled over the previous year-In 2025, we had 26 new volunteer group facilitators and a total of 45 volunteers within the year. CGC also depends on the service of volunteer groups for our events, including our Memory Run/Walk, our annual Gala, and our Holiday Remembrance Event. Our community partners in far west Texas rely on the Children's Grief Center of El Paso as an authoritative source of effective therapeutic support specific to grieving children and their families. We remain a member of the National Alliance of Children's Grief and seek to level our services to best practices nationally while sharing our culturally-grounder borde
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 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 March 1996.
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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