Burke County Smart Start Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561852721
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Morganton, NC, USA
Phone
8284392326
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,721,154
Expenses
$4,589,313
Assets
$1,260,526
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHY SMITH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHY SMITH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $98,812 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To reach out, bring together and empower families, churches, schools, businesses, and government to improve the lives of young children

What it reported doing in 2025

Childcare & education quality programs include child care provider insurance package, child care resource & referral, and dual subsidy - tanf. Child care provider insurance package provided to 90 child care providers in 7 centers & 2 homes. 69% of private home and centers in 4 and 5 star facilities had health insurance. Child care resource & referral provided 61 trainings to 228 child care staff and 40 child care providers. 100% of participating child care facilities who completed a training maintained their star rating. Dual subsidy - tanf program paid, on a direct per child basis, subsidy for 118 children eligible for temporary assistance for needy families (tanf) or the child care development fund (ccdf). The average star rating for subsidized children was 4.71 stars and 93% of subsidized children received care in a 4 or 5 star facility.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 78% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 95% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.5%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 92.8%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 48th 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: 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: 19.8%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.27; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.2%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 40.3% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.5% of revenue deployed · 92.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $4.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $99K · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 8 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.