Compass for Kids Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812829202
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Springfield, IL, USA
Phone
2176918103
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,697,892
Expenses
$2,031,928
Assets
$2,046,249
Liabilities
$56,040

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Andrew Thomason (President)
  • Jim Sullivan (Vice President)
  • Michael Blitstein (Past President)
  • Molly Berendt (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Molly Berendt (CEO): $107,653 total reported compensation
  • Sarah Oglesby (Chief Operating Officer): $81,932 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 Compass for Kids is to provide academic and social-emotional support to empower children and families underserved by our community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Camp Compass is a free summer learning program for low-income, underserved, elementary students of Springfield Public Schools - District 186. Camp Compass is designed to prevent summer learning loss and improve reading and math skills. The overarching purpose is to reduce the achievement gap that exists between low-income students and their higher-income peers by bringing students up to grade level academically. Camp Compass is a hybrid between a summer school and a camp. On one hand, Camp Compass is an academic intervention where licensed teachers instruct the students three hours per day, five days per week, for the six weeks of camp. In addition, Camp Compass incorporates enrichment activities and field trips for a fun camp-like environment. These enrichment experiences address the opportunity gap in addition to the academic achievement gap. Transportation to and from the program, breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack, and weekend food are provided.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.1%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 79.1%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: 24.7%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.01; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.3%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 22.6% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.1% of revenue deployed · 79.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $108K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.