Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Cincinnati Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
310577668
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5134214120
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,307,169
Expenses
$2,389,502
Assets
$3,071,318
Liabilities
$191,327

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JESSICA ESTERKAMP (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JESSICA ESTERKAMP (PRESIDENT & CEO): $138,944 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Big brothers big sisters of greater cincinnati (bbbsgc) provides evidence-based mentoring programs that match youth facing adversity with trained, caring adult mentors. Through both community-based and site-based programming, bbbsgc delivers professionally supported relationships that promote positive youth development, improve academic outcomes, and strengthen social-emotional skills. Serving youth across the 13-county greater cincinnati region, bbbsgc remains focused on expanding access to high-quality mentoring opportunities and ensuring measurable, long-term impact for every child served.

What it reported doing in 2025

Big brothers big sisters of greater cincinnati (bbbsgc) provides professionally supported, one-to-one mentoring programs that match youth facing adversity with trained adult mentors (bigs). Services are delivered through community-based and site-based models, including school-day and after-school programming, workplace-based mentoring, and group mentoring experiences. Key programmatic initiatives include school-based mentoring programs such as lunch buddies and after-school mentoring, workplace exposure programs like beyond school walls, and targeted interventions such as gamechangers, which supports youth involved in or at risk of involvement with the juvenile justice system. Bbbsgc also extends impact beyond the match through big futures, a post-secondary readiness and success initiative that supports youth in achieving educational and career goals. Each mentoring match is supported by professional staff who provide ongoing coaching, safety monitoring, and evidence-based guidance to ensure quality and longevity. Youth in bbbsgc programs demonstrate improved academic engagement, stronger social-emotional skills, and reduced engagement in risky behaviors. Services are delivered across the 13-county greater cincinnati region, with a strategic focus on expanding access and driving equitable outcomes for underserved youth. Bbbsgcs mentoring programs are grounded in research demonstrating that consistent, supportive relationships with caring adults significantly reduce risky behaviors and improve life outcomes for youth. Participants in our programs show measurable gains in academic performance, social-emotional development, and decision-making skills. Notably, only 4% of youth served report teen pregnancy, significantly below the national average. With deep roots in the greater cincinnati community and a forward-looking strategic vision, bbbsgc is committed to scaling innovative program models, expanding access to underserved populations, and strengthening partnerships that advance equity and opportunity. By continuously evolving to meet the needs of todays youth, bbbsgc is positioned to drive transformative outcomes and defend the potential of every young person we serve.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.6%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 76.1%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: 27.7%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.29; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.6% of revenue deployed · 76.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $139K · 27 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.