Better Together Strengthening Familes Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475591391
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Naples, FL, USA
Phone
2394702733
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Services N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$20,364,256
Expenses
$6,639,384
Assets
$34,799,802
Liabilities
$176,181

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MEGAN ROSE (CEO)
  • TARREN BRAGDON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MEGAN ROSE (CEO): $268,160 total reported compensation
  • ISIS LAROSE (VP OF STRAT. PRTNS. & MARKET DEV.): $144,195 total reported compensation
  • MARIA HAYES (CFO): $139,279 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Better together helps at-risk families by empowering parents and surrounding them with community, meaningful work opportunities, and practical support. Our volunteer-driven, professionally supported model provides direct services so that no family struggles alone. This approach prevents the need for foster care and breaks the cycle of government dependency. Better together is entirely funded by private contributions. Better together serves at-risk families that are isolated and on the verge of family breakdown due to economic hardship, natural disasters, or personal challenges. We empower parents to lead the way in overcoming obstacles as our team of professionals and network of churches, vetted volunteers, and employer partners offer direct and practical support.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our better families program helps at-risk families prevent child neglect and abandonment before state involvement is needed. Our volunteer host families temporarily care for children while our team of professionals helps parents regain self-sufficiency, improve parenting skills, and re-engage in their children's lives. In fy 2024, better families provided direct support to children across Florida with a 98% reunification rate. Services included: hosting: 213 children received safe, short-term care during times of family crisis. Parent mentoring: kids stay safe when parents stay strong. (continued on schedule o).750 children were positively impacted through 1-on-1 parent mentoring to guide parents through crises such as addiction recovery, securing stable housing, finding employment, escaping abusive relationships, and overcoming health issues. Parent support: 5,250 children were positively impacted through direct services provided to their parents, strengthening families and creating safer homes. Our help impacted 3,729 families across 33 counties through our better families program, and 98.5% of families stayed intact (double the reunification rate of Florida foster care). This year, more than 40% of family referrals came directly from the Florida department of children and families, law enforcement, schools, hospitals, and other state agencies and first responders and the need for foster care has been reduced in 91% of the counties where we serve.

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 99% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 32.1%; rating input score 32
  • Program expense ratio: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $71.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 67.4%; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.24; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.7%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 28.2% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 39.3% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 47.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 32.1% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $268K · 14 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.