Cocke County Cradle to Career Coalition

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
921742077
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Newport, TN, USA
Phone
4236082845
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$239,762
Expenses
$212,773
Assets
$239,762
Liabilities
$212,773

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Derrick Woods (Chair- Board of Directors)
  • Deborah Wheeler (Board of Directors)
  • Justin Norton (Board of Directors)

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 Cocke County Cradle to Career Coalition operates exclusively for charitable and educational purpose seeking to improve cradle-to-career outcomes for children in Cocke County through the collaborative engagement of all community stakeholders using a collective impact approach to shift population results in kindergarten readiness, third grade literacy, and career & college readiness.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Cocke County Cradle to Career Coalition maintains a community teaching garden with several community partners to increase access to and knowledge of healthy nutritious foods to create a healthy community food environment. A grant was received to improve the garden's infrastructure and build an outdoor classroom. Produce donated: 74.6 lbs harvested in the 2025 season (green beans, squash, zucchini, kale, peppers, tomatoes, okra, potatoes), including a 25 lb potato donation directed to Feed My Sheep for immediate food insecurity needs. The Boys and Girls Club received multiple donations of tomatoes, okra, and peppers. Additional produce went to local residents and health council members. The 2026 season has not yet produced a harvest; data collection is ongoing. Infrastructure improvements: Added a shade structure and picnic tables (Outdoor Learning Classroom), a shed, a dedicated water line, and a wash-and-weigh station. Visitor impact: 75% of survey respondents said they now stay longer at the garden since the improvements, and 25% said they stay more than an hour longer.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 11.3%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.13; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.89; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.7% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $213K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.