Child Start Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 810359400
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Missoula, MT, USA
- Phone
- 4067285460
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,359,106
- Expenses
- $4,611,821
- Assets
- $811,869
- Liabilities
- $163,219
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JASON NEIFFER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- ISAAC TRIANCE (Executive Dir.): $116,930 total reported compensation
- JAY DEWATERS (FISCAL OFFICER): $112,725 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 start inc. Is to provide opportunities for education and growth of our children, families, staff, and our community in a nurturing and supportive environment.
What it reported doing in 2024
The mission of head start is to promote the school readiness of young children from low-income families by providing comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutirition, and parent involvement services. Head start aims to foster cognitive, social, and emotional development in children, ensuring they are equipped with the foundational skills needed for fuccess in school and life. In 2024, the organization served 344 children and their families residing in granite, minteral, missoula, powell and sanders counties in western Montana.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 100% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 22
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 94.3%; rating input score 94
- Program expense ratio: 88.9%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -5.8%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.18; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 94.3% of revenue deployed · 88.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $117K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.