Believe in Dreams

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
471382653
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Beachwood, OH, USA
Phone
4404842376
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$489,896
Expenses
$589,759
Assets
$97,661
Liabilities
$33,814

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATIE EICHENAUER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATIE EICHENAUER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $53,623 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

Dreams program: children are nominated by professional adults they work with (counselors, social workers, teachers, etc.) who have observed the child's positive qualities and resilience. A dream coordinator is assigned to coordinate an individualized experience based on the specific dreams of each youth. Examples of dream experiences include, but are not limited to: sporting events, lessons, classes, activities, memberships, amusement parks, career shadowing, material items of a hobby or interest, attending a major event or visiting somewhere for the first time (within northeast Ohio), meeting or shadowing someone who inspires, or coverage of costs to remove barriers from achieving a goal previously unattainable. We are committed to trauma informed practices and customize each dream experience to help increase capacity for resilience and post traumatic growth.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 59% for direct work, and 41% for 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.4%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -20.4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.17; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.6% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.2% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.4% of revenue deployed · 81.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $482K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $54K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 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: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.