Americas Kids Belong

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025 America's Kids Belong celebrated 10 years of progress to dramaticallyimprove the experiences and outcomes for kids in foster care. It is work that yields downstream, generational impact, illuminated by last year'srelease of Brian Mavis' book, Go Upstream: Diving Into Foster Core ToHeal 10 Social Wounds. It is rare to see foster care rank among the top issues of concern to Americans, yet kids who experience foster care often lack a sense of belonging. Detachedfrom families, they are far more vulnerable to the issues that do makeheadlines-homelessness, poverty, trafficking, incarceration, addiction and more.The goal of this report each year is lo be accountable to you, our investors, for the impact we're generating. We hold our measurable impact in delicate balance with individual stories of lives changed. This year we are proud to report some big numbers. And we are grateful to share some of the stories of how America's Kids Belong is caring for children, families and communities.In 2025 we formally launched Fostering Front Door, building on a decade of trust and digital growth to meet rising interest in foster care, with clear pathways for learning and action. This momentum was fueled by platforms we introduced in 2024, including the Foster Friendly Podcast and the FosterCon webinar series. Through FosterCon, foster parents earn continuing education credits, reducing barriers to support and strengthening retention. Notably, about 30% of participants across both platforms are social workers, extending AKB's reach deep into the child welfare system. Together, these efforts are turning curiosity into understanding--and understanding into action. The cornerstone of our mission is our Belong Project, a video storytelling initiative that helps adoption-eligible kids in foster care find belonging with families. Our shoot days create memorable experiences for the kids and show appreciation to the dedicated workers who get them there.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 70.5%; rating input score 71
• Program expense ratio: 60.7%; rating input score 61
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Fail
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -15.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 17.7% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings