Boxes of Basics

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811661092
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2020
Location
Haymarket, VA, USA
Phone
5713383369
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Children's, Youth Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,198,356
Expenses
$1,014,465
Assets
$515,990
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Tara Conroy PMP (President)
  • Sarah Tyndall (Executive director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Sally Crockett (Program director): $65,619 total reported compensation
  • Sarah Tyndall (Executive director): $64,647 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provide a seasonal wardrobe of high quality new and gently used clothing to local children in need with boxes packed with dignity, compassion and love. The Organization coodinates with school counselors, social workers, faith leaders, and human services agencies to identify children and provide them with stylish, quality clothing to empower kids with confidence and help them thrive.

What it reported doing in 2025

In 2025, Boxes of Basics packed and distributed 3,035 boxes for children across Prince William County, Manassas, Manassas Park, Warren County, Faquier County and Fairfax County. We partnered with 168 referring organizations, including 107 schools, 29 non-profits, and 32 additional community organizations. This expanded outreach was made possible by an incredible network of 909 unique volunteers and more than 29 permanent donation drop-off locations hosted by local businesses throughout the region. Overall, 2025 marked a 40% increase in children served - reflecting both increased operational capacity and a growing demand for essential clothing support. 2025 Highlights and Key takeaways: - Boxes of Basics significantly increased the number of boxes distributed, packing nearly 40% more than in 2024. This growth underscores both rising need and our ability to scale operations to meet it. - In 2025, 20% of children served were experiencing homelessness, up from 12.4% in 2024 - a more than 60% increase. - While Prince William County remained our primary service area, we saw notable growth in Fauquier and Warren counties. - The children served reflect the diversity of our region: 49% Hispanic/Latino, 24% Blace, 12% White, 7% Asian, and 8% other. - Boxes of Basics diverted more than 18 tons of clothing from landfills in 2025 - reducing textile waste while meeting essential clothing needs for children. - More than 900 unique volunteers contributed over 4,300 hours of service. - Collaborated with 168 referring partners - including schools, non-profits, community agencies, and faith-based organizations - to identify needs early, coordinate support, and connect children and families to critical resources.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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.
  • 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 91.7%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $187.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15.3%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.51; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.8%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 98.3% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 71.7% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 70.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.6% of revenue deployed · 91.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $930K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $66K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.