Bear Be a Resource for Cps Kids
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 311516122
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Houston, TX, USA
- Phone
- 7132749854
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Personal Social Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,137,274
- Expenses
- $3,983,691
- Assets
- $3,282,864
- Liabilities
- $665,213
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
29 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MEREDITH MARSHALL (PRESIDENT)
- NATALIE MOHTASHAMI (VICE PRESIDENT)
- TAMMY HETMANIAK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- TAMMY HETMANIAK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $122,811 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
See schedule o
What it reported doing in 2024
"bear necessities" is the giving program through which emergency supplies are provided to any child under the care of harris county cps, particularly those who are removed from unsafe homes. Cps caseworkers obtain emergency items such as clothing, diapers, food, hygiene items, and shoes from the "bear rooms and bear's warehouse in houston. Bear room inventory is funded by foundations, family, and corporate grants, as well as cash and in-kind gifts from individuals. Bear employees and volunteers staff the bear rooms. In 2024, the program received the help of the 1,137 volunteers and served 45,600 children.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 75% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 69
- Accountability: 93
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 88.2%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $18.58 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 24th 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; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 96.6%; rating input score 97; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- 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: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.7%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.82; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.6%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.7% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 88.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 28 of 29 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $123K · 29 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.