Hope Ignites St Louis

Overview

Mission

The primary goal of hope ignites st. Louis is that our scholars reach their full potential and become healthy, productive life-long learners who adapt to an ever-changing world, thrive in the face of obstacles, and generate a positive ripple effect in their families, work places, and communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Hope ignites st. Louis helps economically disadvantaged and at-risk children in st.louis achieve prosperity by increasing their high school and college graduation rates. Services provided include, but are not limited to; food, clothing, shelter, transportation, health care, therapeutic counseling, educational access, vocational training and parental engagement.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431202596
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Headquarters
Richmond Heights, MO, USA
Phone
3147769406
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.5%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 69.5%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.76; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.5%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.5% of revenue deployed · 69.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $136K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 annual filings from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • CASSANDRA SISSOM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (FORMER)): $136,082 total reported compensation
  • MICHELLE ABEL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $2,885 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: FY2024.