Elevate Youth Services Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Elevate youth services provides an integrated continuum of care for youth ages 12-24, grounded in relationship, stability, and real-world support. Young people are not expected to navigate systems on their own. Our programs are designed to meet them where they are and move with them as their needs change. Our homeless youth housing programs offer both immediate safety and longer-term stability. This includes emergency shelter for youth who cannot safely remain at home, as well as transitional housing for young people working toward independence. Youth receive individualized case management, life skills support, and consistent adult connection, with an emphasis on choice, dignity, and building a sense of home. Country roads provides counseling, family support, crisis response, and short-term shelter for youth in acute situations. The program works closely with young people and their caregivers to stabilize crises, strengthen relationships, and create safer, more sustainable paths forward. Return house is a 24-hour residential program for young people who are aging out of dcf custody and need a stable, supportive place to land. The program provides structure, relationship, and daily living support, alongside individualized case management to help young people build the skills and connections needed for long-term stability. Our healthy youth programs (hyp) provide substance use counseling, prevention, and early intervention for youth and young adults. This work is fully integrated across elevate, so that no matter where a young person enters, they have access to consistent, compassionate support around substance use and mental health. The basement teen center offers a free, substance-free space where teens can gather, build community, and access support from trusted adults. It is a place for belonging, creativity, and leadership, where young people can show up as they are and be part of something. The Vermont coalition of runaway and homeless youth programs (vcrhyp) supports a statewide network of providers working with youth experiencing homelessness and instability. Through this role, elevate helps coordinate training, data, funding, and shared best practices, strengthening the overall system of care for young people across Vermont. Youth in transition (yit) and the youth development program (ydp) are statewide programs administered by elevate. In addition to directly supporting young people, elevate provides leadership, coordination, and support to partner agencies across Vermont delivering these services. Both programs offer ongoing, youth-driven case management for young people navigating instability, aging out of systems, or building independence. The work focuses on helping youth set their own goals, remove barriers, and access what they need, including education, employment, health care, housing, and supportive relationships. Across all programs, elevate operates within a community of care model that centers relationships, dignity, and connection. We believe that support should feel human, accessible, and consistent, and that every young person deserves to be supported in building the life they want to live.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 85.3%; rating input score 85
• Program expense ratio: 87.5%; rating input score 87
• Fundraising efficiency: $44.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 77; 77th 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; 72nd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • 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: 2.6%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.72; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings