Birdsall House

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812874232
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Kansas City, MO, USA
Phone
8165693174
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Child Day Care

Reported finances

Revenue
$182,301
Expenses
$205,916
Assets
$37,857
Liabilities
$180,344

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KELLY RAINES (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • TRACY TANKARD (PRESIDENT)
  • BROOKE MARLOW (VICE PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • KELLY RAINES (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • TRACY TANKARD (PRESIDENT)
  • BROOKE MARLOW (VICE PRESIDENT)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Provides affordable early childhood education

What it reported doing in 2025

THE MISSION OF BIRDSALL HOUSE IS TO PROVIDE QUALITY, RESPECTFUL CHILD CARE PROGRAMS THAT HELP CHILDREN AND FAMILIES BE THEIR VERY BEST. BIRDSALL HOUSE HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED AS A BREASTFEEDING FRIENDLY CENTER AND WORKPLACE, AND AS A MISSOURI MOVE SMART CENTER. THE BIRDSALL HOUSE CURRICULUM PULLS FROM THE REGGIO APPROACH, THE TEACHINGS OF MAGDA GERBER, JEAN PIAGET AND MANY OTHER THEORISTS WHO SUPPORT PLAY. THE CURRICULUM FOCUSES ON POSITIVE INTERACTIONS, THE ARTS, AND SCIENCE. KELLY CREATED AN ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH THE CHILDREN ARE FREE TO LEARN AND EXPLORE WHAT THEY ARE INTERESTED IN AND TO DEVELOP AT THEIR OWN PACE. FOLLOWING THE MAGNA GERBER AND REGGIO EMILIA PHILOSOPHIES OF RESPECT FOR AND TRUST IN THE CHILD TO BE THE INITIATOR, EXPLORER, AND SELF-LEARNER, BIRDSALL HOUSE TEACHERS SPEND MOST OF THE DAY OUTSIDE. THEIR OUTDOOR CLASSROOM IS DESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE CREATIVE AND COOPERATIVE PLAY. CHILDREN BUILD CONFIDENCE AS THEY BALANCE, CLIMB, RUN, JUMP, AND PLAY IN ways only limited by their imaginations. The willow tree has been a castle, a caf, and a jungle, inhabited by dinosaurs, dragons, and fairies. This time spent outside naturally increases a childs interest in science and math. Exploration, observation, and experimentation are the natural outcomes of allowing children to play freely in nature. Even their infants enjoy time outside, often napping in the shade of a tree. Birdsall House grows many different fruits, vegetables, and herbs in the outdoor classroom. Children are free to pick mulberries, raspberries, cherries, peaches, strawberries, mint, and whatever vegetables are in season. Everything grown in the outdoor classroom is edible, including the clover that covers the ground. Birdsall House inside classrooms are designed to encourage play that promotes social and emotional development. With a mix of open-ended toys, household items, and objects from nature, the children build, cook, dance, sing, and LEARN IN A NATURAL WAY. WITH AN EMPHASIS ON SCIENCE AND THE ARTS DRIVING THE CURRICULUM, CLASSROOMS ARE RICH IN BOOKS, MAPS, MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, DRESS UP CLOTHES, PUPPETS, AND ART SUPPLIES.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 12
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.18; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 4.76; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $206K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.