Capstone Community Action Inc

Overview

Mission

Capstone community action provides comprehensive services to help people achieve economic well-being with dignity and develops partnerships to strengthen Vermont communities. Our commitment is: to alleviate the suffering caused by poverty, to work with individuals and families to move out of poverty, and to advocate for economic justice for all vermonters.

What it reported doing in 2024

Community economic development (ced): our food and nutrition programs address food insecurity for low-income vermonters. We operate one of the largest food shelves in the central Vermont region. We served prepared meals and provided healthy food to hungry vermonters in 8,685 visits. Our child care food program supported 129 childcare providers and 1,097 kids received nutricious meals on a daily basis. Our money management programs include financial coaching, micro business counseling, and tax assistance. Capstone provides comprehensive financial coaching by helping individuals develop budgets, improve credit, reduce debt, and build savings. In 2024-2025, our financial coaching program helped 522 individuals to improve their financial stability. Microbusiness counseling assists self-employed, low-income vermonters with business basics and planning. In 2024-2025, capstone counseled 241 entrepreneurs. Our tax assistance program utilized 30 volunteers and helped 1,672 low-income vermonters file their taxes in 2025.capstone's community kitchen academy (cka) offers low-income vermonters training for a culinary career. Students attend 9-week training sessions to learn basic culinary skills, food service and safety, and general job skills. In 2024-2025, 12 people graduated from cka. Housing (prospect forest): capstone provides nine affordable housing units in two buildings (hud section 8) in randolphl Vermont called prospect forest homes. Transportation and climate impact: our mileage smart program provides grants of up to $5,000 for community residents to switch to high efficiency cars. In 2024-2025, 22 vehicles were sold and vermonters are now driving a gas hybrid or electric vehicle purchased from a local car dealer. Other accomplishments: in 2024-2025, capstone continued to operate the disaster case management program funded by fema and provided flood recovery support. In 2024-2025, capstone served 10,117 individuals and 6,115 households.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 82% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 70% for direct work, and 30% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
030216254
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Headquarters
Barre, VT, USA
Phone
8024791053
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.3%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $250.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.4%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.61; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.29; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.4% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.3% of revenue deployed · 88.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $21.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $169K · 20 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $972K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSAN MINTER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (FORMER)): $169,139 total reported compensation
  • COLLEEN LAFONT (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $135,543 total reported compensation
  • SARAH MCMULLEN (CHIEF OF OPERATIONS): $135,072 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.