Directions for Youth and Families Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
314407642
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Columbus, OH, USA
Phone
6142942661
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,012,321
Expenses
$9,316,989
Assets
$21,063,044
Liabilities
$728,842

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DUANE CASARES PRESIDENT AND (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • DUANE CASARES PRESIDENT AND (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $217,520 total reported compensation
  • PATRICIA EDWARDS (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $124,703 total reported compensation
  • JOHN CERVI (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $124,615 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Directions for youth & families, inc. (dfyf) mission is to build and inspire hope, healing, and resilience for youth, families, and communities through counseling and education.

What it reported doing in 2024

School based services provides school based mental and behavioral health intervention counseling and support services to students and families. During fy25, we expanded the program to include service learning which combines education with community service. Throughout the school year, we partner with elementary and middle schools in central Ohio to facilitate programs during the school day. Students identify needs in our community, do research, and create projects to address the issues most important to them. During fy25, there were 1,079 student leaders which provided over 26,000 hours of service learning.continued on schedule o in october 2024, we proudly celebrated the first anniversary of the crittenton community center. In this short time, the center has become an invaluable resource for the eastland community, a place where youth find safety, encouragement, and opportunity every day. Since opening our doors, our crittenton after-school/summer program has tripled the number of young people reached from previous years. With our expanded capacity, we are now able to welcome more youth than ever before, without the concern of turning anyone away.in 2024, the center received the building columbus best community impact award from columbus business first and the american institute of architects' merit award. These honors are more than acknowledgments of design, they reflect the life-changing work and quality of care happening within our walls each day.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 83% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.8%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 81.5%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: -16.3%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.26; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.6% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.8% of revenue deployed · 81.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $7.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $218K · 21 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 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: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.