Canopy Children's Solutions

Legal name: Cares Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
640823550
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Vicksburg, MS, US
Phone
800-388-6247
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$23,093,541
Expenses
$25,342,243
Assets
$8,205,241
Liabilities
$5,217,121

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JILL PIERCE (PRESIDENT)
  • ROBERT LEARD (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN DAMON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN DAMON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $515,738 total reported compensation
  • TERRY HIGHT (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $335,327 total reported compensation
  • ANGIE SUMMRALL (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $306,279 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 help children thrive.

What it reported doing in 2025

Educational services - cares schools in jackson, hattiesburg and biloxi are accredited, non-public schools designed to meet the educational and behavioral needs of students whose behavior prohibits participation in the public school setting. The canopy school is a fully-accredited school that empowers the diverse abilities of children through an individualized approach to education in a supportive, innovative and transformative environment. 335 individuals were served during 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 88% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 96
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.2%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -9.7%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.32; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.64; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.1%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 85.2% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $19.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $516K · 40 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.