Baby 1St Network

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237186229
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Toledo, OH, USA
Phone
3309299911
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$413,542
Expenses
$410,335
Assets
$171,952
Liabilities
$88,613

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Stacy Scott (Executive Director)
  • Sharla Smith (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Stacy Scott (Executive Director): $62,947 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Baby 1st Network provides eduational material and support for all who work to reduce Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID).We provide the tools necessary to empower and engage communites to keep their infants safe.We provide support services to families who have experienced SUID.

What it reported doing in 2024

FYE 2025: During fiscal year 2025, Baby 1st Network (BFN) advanced community outreach and education efforts designed to promote infant health and wellness and support statewide initiatives to reduce sleep-related infant deaths. BFN provided training to a broad range of stakeholders, including public health nurses, coroners, community-based organizations, and community members. These activities reflected BFNs commitment to engaging diverse partners in efforts to improve infant health and birth outcomes. BFN also provided administrative and operational support to the Ohio Collaborative to Prevent Infant Mortality (OCPIM). The Collaborative promotes authentic community engagement, particularly with populations at greatest risk for infant mortality and adverse birth outcomes. It also supports the exchange of innovative strategies and best practices and works to strengthen the collection, analysis, and sharing of relevant data among participating organizations. Throughout the year, BFN managed all aspects of planning and convening OCPIMs quarterly statewide meetings. Responsibilities included securing virtual meeting platforms and in-person venues, coordinating calendars, maintaining the membership database, developing agendas, confirming presenters, managing registration, and overseeing post-meeting follow-up. Additional activities included updating the OCPIM webpage, producing the quarterly newsletter, and ensuring the timely distribution of meeting materials and resources. In addition, BFN administered the Mini Grant Program, which was created to strengthen the capacity of small, community-based organizations. The program supported locally led educational initiatives in communities experiencing disparities in sleep-related infant deaths and helped expand grassroots organizations ability to promote safe sleep practices and improve infant health outcomes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 86% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.3%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $43.65 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.52; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.3%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.3% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91.3% of revenue deployed · 92% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $377K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $63K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.