Child's Voice School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364031325
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Wood Dale, IL, USA
Phone
6305958200
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,806,389
Expenses
$3,195,766
Assets
$9,202,921
Liabilities
$163,087

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CATHLEEN JARECZEK (PRESIDENT)
  • SHANNON DEAMER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • DAN STRATIS (PRESIDENT EMERITUS)
  • WENDY DETERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • WENDY DETERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $137,500 total reported compensation
  • ROLLEN COOPER (DIRECTOR OF AUDIOLOGY): $122,406 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of child's voice is to empower children with hearing loss to be successful in all educational and social settings by optimizing their listening, speaking and academic skills, our programs provide specialized support and education to children with hearing loss and their families.

What it reported doing in 2024

Audiology center & pedicatric early hearing detection & intervention (pehdi) program: the audiology center provides services to all children in the school program as well as those attending the groups in the early intervention program. These services include diagnostic testing evaluation and device (hearing AIDS/cochlear implants) support. Additionally, the pediatric hearing & intervention (pehdi) program offers diagnostic testing to improve the follow up of families with newborns/infants at risk for hearing loss and increasing the timeliness of diagnosis when a loss is present. With the amazing and continued advancements in technology, early identification, and early intervention services, children with hearing loss can develop the skills to listen and to speak. This begins with early diagnosis and good access to sound, both of which can be accomplished through the audilogy center at child's voice. When children leave child's voice, they are better prepared for success. The curriculum and therapies shared provide the building blocks needed for these children to achieve great things. They have built a strong foundation that enables the student and their family to succed. The wonderful success of the the many child's voice graduates is due, in large part, to the early education they received at child's voice. We often say that a future president walks our hallways.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 67% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69.6%; rating input score 70
  • Program expense ratio: 79.2%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.49 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th 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: 88.2%; rating input score 88; 19th 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: 16%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.88; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -13% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.4% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69.6% of revenue deployed · 79.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $138K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 15/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.