Way Station
Public records show a registered, tax-exempt organization in good standing.
What it says it does
Provide supportive services to homeless and housing insecure individuals in the Mount Washington Valley Area. We accomplish this with our strategic plan in mind focusing on the acronym HOME. H is housing. We have been awarded and are awaiting governor approval of a grant to renovate the structure we operate from to offer congregate living space. O is operations, our current services to clients. P was changed to M which represents mobile ops facilitated by a van purchased in Dec 2025 allowing us to go into the community to reach clients unable to come to us. The previous "P" represented poverty mitigation facilitated by a program which proved impractical in our rural area. E for Economic Stabilization allows us to provide one time support to cover relatively small items such as the first months rent for a long awaited apartment, or a car battery to permit the client to get to work thereby preventing homelessness or lessening the burden of a difficult situation.
- Income
- $407,056
- Spending
- $391,313
- Spent on programs
- 82%
- Reserves
- 5.7 months of spending
- Largest source of income
- donations and private grants, 60%
- Employees
- 3
- Volunteers
- 15
- Highest pay
- $65,805, client care coordinator
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: 81 out of 100. Higher than 60% of charities in its peer group (human services, $250k to $1m).
Reserves
20 of 35Spendable reserves would cover 5.7 months of spending.
Debt
16 of 20It owes 19% of what it owns.
Living within its means
15 of 15Income exceeded spending by 4% of income.
Income trend
15 of 15Income rose 5% on the year before.
Spending floor
15 of 1582% of spending went to programs and raising each dollar of donations cost 16 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
Good: 86 out of 100. Higher than 72% of charities in its peer group (human services, $250k to $1m).
Independent board
25 of 256 of 6 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
0 of 5Reports no independent review process for its chief executive's pay.
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 (9)
- $153,152 spent. EmergencyCold Weather Support. During 2025 Way Station received two separate grants for cold weather operations. Carroll county, in which Way Station is located, is the only county in NH which has no homeless shelters. Way Station has used the 2024-25 grant and the 2025-26 grant to provide hotel stays for those clients who qualify for them. This benefit is activated during cold snaps or snow storms when individuals who are camping in the woods or sleeping in their cars are most vulnerable. We provided well over 1000 hotel night stays. Additionally we provided 146 Cold Weather cards and camping equipment as some clients don't qualify to stay in hotels. Although the grants cover a 3 year period, the information provided is for the 2025 timeframe only.
- $98,255 spent. Program Implementers: Key to the success of the mission of the Way Station is the interaction of our Client Resource Coordinator (CRC) who oversees the day to day operations working directly with our homeless and housing insecure clients, ensuring their safety and coordinating with other services providers in the area. One of our objectives is not to overlap or duplicate services with these other agencies and as such refer clients to health care providers, substance abuse programs, and town welfare agencies to name a few. What we do provide and which the CRC coordinates is being a low barrier service for immediate needs. These include things such as scheduling showers, providing food appropriate to the client's living conditions, coordinating the donation and distribution of clothing and camping equipment and the purchase of items we provide to our clients at no cost. We provided 1817 services to individuals in 18 different towns in our service area. These service numbers do not include the over 1000 bed nights and other support covered during our cold weather grant period. Our second key employee, while part time, headed the Circles program. We were confident this program could provide successful outcomes for potential participants, raising them out of poverty and providing good life skills. This program, however, couldn't get off the ground after three years of effort. Based on the recommendation of the program workers and volunteers, the board decided to abandon the Circles program in Dec of 2025.
- $24,869 spent. Communication. We provide phones and phone cards to stay in contact with our clients which number from 35-50 at any given time. We check on their well being and determine what services they need. We found the clients were abusing our generosity so we have become stricter with our clients, issuing only 1 phone/year, primarily to new clients. We issued 42 phones and 238 phone cards to clients in 2025
- $22,550 spent. Client transportation: This includes: Gas cards and bicycles & bicycle repairs. The gas cards in denominations of $20 not only provide transportation to work and appointments but also allows for some amount of shelter. 479 Regular gas cards were issued.
- $6,208 spent. Circles. This program was intended to help raise participants out of poverty by teaming individuals with community volunteers with higher life skills. After 3 years of pursuing this goal, one of our Strategic pillars, we made the difficult decision to abandon this effort having little success getting individuals interested in participating in the program and volunteers to support the effort. The expense reflects our National membership in the program and the miscellaneous expenses to organize the program.
- $5,833 spent. Financial Assistance or Stabilization. We provide one time payments for clients in emergency situations which could mean the difference between survival or devastation. Examples include covering a security deposit or first months rent for a long sought after rental apartment or replacing a car battery. We assisted 6 clients in 2025.
- $4,849 spent. Laundry capability. Although we have washer and dryer capability at our facility, beginning during COVID our clients were not permitted to use them so we continued to issue prepaid laundry cards along with detergent for local laundromats. We continue with the expanded laundry program to another town in our service area so those clients wouldn't have to drive some distances to get this service. This enabled sanitary living conditions and a presentable appearance for work or appointments. We provided over 260 laundry cards, generally valued around $20
- $2,700 spent. Camping equipment provided outside the cold weather program for individuals who don't have cars
- $1,600 spent. Groceries. We coordinate with a local food pantry and delivered fresh food to 248 households. We are qualified to access the state food banks located in Berlin or Manchester, NH. In 2025 we received 3,186 lbs of shelf stable food which the food bank estimates a fair market value of $6,053 thereby saving the Way Station funds while providing much more food to our clients. For those clients who are couch surfing or living in their cars or camping or who just need supplemental foodstuffs we provide nonperishable items from the food bank which are eatable from the can. We had over 291 instances of providing nonperishable food in 2025. We also purchase gift cards for holiday seasons or as incentives for individuals to respond to the states annual point in time count.
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 December 2020.
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.
Could it be confused with another charity? Worth knowing.
A much larger organization has a similar name: Way Station Inc (Frederick, MD), EIN 52-1162749. 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.