Canine Classmates

What it reported doing in 2023

It is important to point out that Canine Classmates is primarily an education program. During the 2023-2024 school year, our volunteers and small staff provided over 6,000 30-minute session to the students in the program. The Canine Classmates literacy program is designed to encourage and improve literacy and social skills for struggling and at-risk K through 5th grade students. We accomplish this by pairing mentors and trained, certified service dogs with students in a program that is positive, nurturing and motivational. The students participate in the one-on-one (or in small groups) literacy program for 30 minutes at the same time and on the same day each week with the same mentor to develop consistency. We work with the teachers and counselors to tailor our approach based on the needs of each child. Our continual evaluation enables us to quickly modify our approach when needed. Canine Classmates has developed a proven solution with an effective success rate based on school measurements. A majority of students in the Canine Classmates program are deemed at-risk and represent a diverse population of children with issues such as mobility handicaps, emotional issues, learning problems, special education needs, speech and language delays, autism, and those from economically disadvantaged homes. Behaviors in children who are autistic, nonverbal by choice, argumentative, emotionally disturbed, and with prior high truancy have been dramatically changed for the better due to interaction with the dogs and Canine Classmates mentors. Literacy is often the one single denominator to a student's success in school, society, and in the job market. National statistics show that students who aren't reading at grade level by the third grade are four times less likely to finish high school and two-thirds of students who struggle with reading by the fourth grade will run into trouble with the law. Approximately 85% of youth in the juvenile court system are considered to be functionally illiterate. Several of the schools have requested additional days next year. The goal of Canine Classmates is to help these students attain the reading skills and interpersonal skills they need to advance and succeed in later life.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 79.6%; rating input score 80
• Program expense ratio: 82%; rating input score 82
• Fundraising efficiency: $4.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
  • 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: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 2.9%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.18; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.77; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 65.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: Limited
• Revenue growth: 26.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 23.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings