Copper Community Childcare

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
933746469
IRS 990 coverage
2024–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Copper Mountain, CO, USA
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,034,240
Expenses
$1,022,824
Assets
$156,686
Liabilities
$383,964

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Courtney Drabik (Executive Director)
  • Abigail Tietjen (President)
  • Peter Siegel (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Courtney Drabik (Executive Director): $84,271 total reported compensation
  • Deanna Cunningham (Assistant Director): $59,121 total reported compensation
  • Helen Holm (Assistant Director): $13,462 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to provide an immersive learning experience that empowers children to be active, engaged learners who appreciate the beauty and intricacies of the natural world. We believe that parents are an integral part of their childs learning process and need to be included in our everyday activities through communication and a collaborative learning plan.

What it reported doing in 2025

Statement of Program Accomplishments Since opening in February 2024, Mountain Sprouts Academy has worked to build a high-quality, relationship-based early childhood program serving families in the Copper Mountain and greater Summit County community. Inspired by the Reggio Emilia philosophy, our mission is to provide a nurturing, child-centered learning environment where children are viewed as capable, curious, and competent learners. We strive to foster creativity, collaboration, exploration, and meaningful relationships while supporting the needs of working families in our mountain community. Over the past year, Mountain Sprouts Academy has made significant progress toward achieving its organizational goals. Key accomplishments include: Continuing to successfully operate and grow a licensed early childhood program serving infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children in a community with limited access to quality care. Creating a safe, welcoming, and engaging learning environment grounded in Reggio Emiliainspired practices and developmentally appropriate care. Earning a 4-Star rating through Colorados Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), recognizing the programs commitment to high-quality early childhood education and continuous improvement. Building strong relationships with families through open communication, family engagement opportunities, and community-centered events. Expanding staffing capacity through the hiring and mentoring of educators committed to reflective teaching practices and collaborative learning. Supporting workforce needs within the Copper Mountain community by providing reliable childcare for resort employees, local families, and business owners. Offering extended and seasonal care options, including Saturday programming during ski season, to better meet the unique scheduling needs of mountain familiesDeveloping community partnerships and fundraising initiatives to support long-term sustainability and program growth. Continuing professional development efforts for staff through mentorship, coaching, and ongoing training focused on high-quality early childhood education practices. Mountain Sprouts Academy continues to grow as a trusted early childhood resource within the community. Our program remains committed to strengthening educational quality, expanding access to care, and creating meaningful early learning experiences that support both children and families for years to come.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 80% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 76% for direct work, and 24% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.6%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.02 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 1.1%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.45; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.3%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 24.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 55.1% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 119.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.6% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $886K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $84K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.