Committee for Missing Children Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582215576
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lawrenceville, GA, USA
Phone
8005258204
Rating
54
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Children's, Youth Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$800,195
Expenses
$938,134
Assets
$91,639
Liabilities
$227,467

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David C Thelen (Director - CEO)
  • Carmen Lops (Director - President)

Highest reported compensation

  • David C Thelen (Director - CEO): $29,975 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 organization is a parent advocacy group. It assists parents of missing children by providing the assistance that they deserve and ensuring that their rights are protected.

What it reported doing in 2024

Case Management and Parent Advocacy - Case management is the development of a detailed case folder. Not all parents calling the organization for assistance would warrant the development of a case folder. Much of what is done is disseminating information on how to locate their children or options what a parent can do immediately, such as, contact friends, file a police report, register with the NCMEC, etc. Most of this is geared to runaways. The organization offers a 24/7 service and is listed in most telephone books and relevant internet sites Informational database - Both the organiations library and website were developed to assist anyone who is interested to learn about child abduction or wish to learn how to proceed to recover a lost or missing child. While the website was developed to assist law enforcment agencies, it appears that such agencies have not utilized its extensive degree of information. Included in the library and website are a significant number of case histories, which have been litigated worldwide. Much of this vital information is the result of the work of California attorney William Hilton, as well as experience from the organization itself. Safety and Education - The Committee offers free of charge safety materials, such as ID kits, safety posters, as well as a series of stuffed animals with safety slogans imprinted on their shirts. Two examples of saftey slogans are (1) We never forget a missing child and (2) Finding missing chil

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 8
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 89
  • Sustainability: 13
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 9.2%; rating input score 9
  • Program expense ratio: 7.7%; rating input score 8
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 23rd 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: 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.1; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.48; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.6% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 9.2% of revenue deployed · 7.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $73K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $30K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 9/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.