Center for Whitley County Youth Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
205993971
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Columbia City, IN, USA
Phone
2602484977
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$962,275
Expenses
$1,165,462
Assets
$563,692
Liabilities
$3,221

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

People named in this filing

  • KYLE BAUER (DIRECTOR)
  • SETH HICKS (DIRECTOR)
  • TRAVIS HIMES (DIRECTOR)

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

The center has established both in-school and out-of-school programming environments that help elementary, middle, and high school students uncover and refine their natural skills, abilities, and character traits that allow them to rise above their limitations (both real and perceived). These environments let our young people experience a community full of multi- generational role models and mentoring, opportunities to contribute as well as receive, and a spirit of invitation and challenge.

What it reported doing in 2025

A. The center served 1,407 unduplicated students, a 25.2% increase from the prior school year. B. Staff and volunteers documented 5,885 student interactions with 431 individual students, totaling 1,957 hours of mentoring outside of regularly scheduled programming. C. Staff documented 2,439 parent interactions, along with 435 visits to parent and family events. D. 32 students received 130 hours of individualized life coaching, completing 366 academic, relational, career, and personal-development goals. E. Among 115 students surveyed, 100% said they felt valued, 99% said adults at the center cared about them, and 97% said they felt a sense of belonging. F. 97% of surveyed students said involvement at the center had improved their mental health, and 97% said they had more people to turn to when struggling. G. Since coming to the center, 92% of surveyed students said they had become more involved in their community, 88% said they were more willing to learn new things, and 84% said they were better at making wise choices. H. 93 volunteers contributed 2,746 hours of service to center programs, equivalent to approximately 46,678 in donated time (at 17/hour). I. The center provided 499 transportation trips and 438 meals. J. Students participated in an estimated 5,450 hours of physical activity. K. Thrive participants completed 896 gamified "missions" involving practical life skills, relationships, health, leadership, career preparation, and personal development. L. Thrive participants completed 332 practical life-skills missions and 102 future-readiness missions involving career exploration, financial literacy, leadership, entrepreneurship, and stem. M. 149 students participated in 8 career and college field trips, providing learning experiences with colleges, employers, businesses, and community organizations. N. Among 9 graduating seniors surveyed, 100% said the center increased the number of adult mentors in their lives, and 89% said the center helped them through their teenage years. O. 44 parents surveyed in 25/26: i. 90% agreed the center helps prepare their child for future challenges. Ii. 71% agreed their child is doing better in school. Iii. 95% agreed the program is a safe place for their child. Iv. 73% agreed their child is behaving better at home and/or school. V. 85% agreed they feel well-informed about their child's experience. Vi. 92% agreed they are satisfied with the program. Vii. 95% agreed or strongly agreed the parent/family event was worth their time.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% 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.

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: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.6%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: -21.1%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.6% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.6% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $871K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.