Dannon Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
141891112
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2008
Location
Birmingham, AL, USA
Phone
2052024072
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Community Service Clubs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,336,709
Expenses
$3,249,709
Assets
$2,375,634
Liabilities
$140,000

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kerri Pruitt (Executive Director)
  • Benjamin Lankford (Board President)
  • John Downing (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Kerri Pruitt (Executive Director): $109,592 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 provide reentry and other transitional and workforce training services to WIOA and several vulnerable populations, including unemployed, underemployed, uneducated and undereducated, adult and young adults who have been in conflict with the law, pregnant and parenting teens, uninsured and underinsured, and their families by reducing barriers such as homelessness or risk of becoming homeless, employment, discrimination, job training, education, behavioral health treatment, and several emergency support services. During the FY, the agency expanded its ACER Reentry model to nine West Alabama Counties and to the Chattahoochee River Valley Region encompassing contiguous Russell and Lee Counties (Eastern) Alabama. We also provide workforce development/readiness services across 16 Alabama counties.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Dannon Project's Department of Energy (DOE) Community Innovation and Workforce Training Initiative supports digital equity, clean-energy workforce development, and technology-based learning opportunities for underserved populations across Alabama. Through this project, participants receive instruction in emerging energy-sector careers, environmental sustainability practices, and green-technology literacy. The initiative strengthens community capacity to participate in high-demand energy and infrastructure jobs while advancing federal priorities for sustainability, broadband access, and equitable workforce inclusion. Program activities include virtual instruction, workforce credentialing, and cross-sector collaboration with higher-education and industry partners. Other programs include:(Want to remain anonymous) Foundation $ 100,000 General operating support to strengthen community workforce and reentry initiatives The Caring Foundation $ 10,000 Health-related outreach, staff wellness, and participant mental-health access Other Contributions $ 225,000 Private donations and unrestricted community support Total $ 335,000. During 2024, The Dannon Project received strategic philanthropic support from the Anonymous Foundation ($100,000), The Caring Foundation ($10,000), and private community contributors ($225,000). These unrestricted funds strengthened organizational capacity and expanded direct services within the organization's reentry, workforce development, and digital literacy initiatives. Support was used to enhance technology infrastructure, provide staff training and professional development, and sustain wraparound services such as mental health counseling and transportation assistance for participants. Collectively, these investments enabled The Dannon Project to serve additional participants and advance its mission of empowering individuals to achieve self-sufficiency and community stability.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.4%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 7th 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: 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: 2.6%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.4% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $101K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.