Children's Equity Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843694024
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2404500011
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,870,033
Expenses
$9,467,242
Assets
$114,354,450
Liabilities
$563,939

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID DANIELS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID DANIELS (PRESIDENT): $796,731 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL BRANNAN (TREASURER AND CFO): $376,344 total reported compensation
  • MARICA COX MITCHELL (CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER): $344,048 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To champion comprehensive policy changes at the federal, state and local levels to create lasting systems change that improves the well-being of children and families.

What it reported doing in 2024

Early childhood advocacy and policy: the first few years of life are critical for human development as the building blocks for lifelong learning, economic productivity, health and wellbeing, and positive relationships are formed during this early childhood developmental period. The fund works with local and national organizations to improve conditions for young children (birth through age eight) and their families by advancing equity-driven public policies and systemic change. The fund has awarded funding to organizations that explicitly advocate for increased public investments in early childhood programs and services, with attention to historically marginalized populations and communities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 85% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Assets have declined or grown slowly and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 86.4%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 12.9%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.08; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.4%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 42.3% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 42.6% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $8.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $797K · 15 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $131K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 42 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 32 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 — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.