Creative Alternatives

Legal name: Creative Alternatives Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942378380
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Turlock, CA, US
Phone
(209) 668-9361
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Child Day Care

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,488,738
Expenses
$16,918,814
Assets
$17,875,539
Liabilities
$2,247,122

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ROBERT BAKER (PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID FOSSUM (VICE PRESIDENT (THROUGH NOV 2024))
  • STEPHANIE JOY BIDDLE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHANIE JOY BIDDLE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $181,471 total reported compensation
  • DARREN BORRELLI (HUMAN RESOURCE/COMPLIANCE): $131,877 total reported compensation
  • LISA JACOBS (ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECT): $128,397 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 deliver comprehensive therapeutic services in a nurturing environment to youth and young adults.

What it reported doing in 2024

Creative alternatives operates fourteen short term residential therapeutic program (strtp) homes in stanislaus and merced counties.our strtp home environment is designed to prepare emotionally fragile youth for the transition from strtp living to reunification with their natural family, foster care, or in some cases, emancipation. In a nurturing environment, our children are taught independent living skills which range from basic daily functioning tasks to money management and job training. Youth are empowered, on an individualized basis, by learning appropriate communication and socialization skills, problem solving techniques and goal setting. Our youth are taught coping strategies which offer them alternatives to self-destructive behavior.

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91.7%; rating input score 92
  • 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: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 66th 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: Fail
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.3%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.06; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.8%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.2% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 91.7% of revenue deployed · 86.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $14.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $181K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $143K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.