Elgin Children's Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461599287
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Knoxville, TN, USA
Phone
8658626560
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,574,255
Expenses
$3,313,094
Assets
$17,750,019
Liabilities
$656,769

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ADELLA THOMPSON (PRESIDENT/CHAIR/DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID D JOHNSON (DIRECTOR (PARTIAL YEAR)): $433,140 total reported compensation
  • DANA E RING (DIRECTOR (PARTIAL YEAR)): $179,009 total reported compensation
  • RICK SMITH (DIRECTOR): $121,386 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Serving the youngest, poorest, most vulnerable, and most rurally isolated children in designated counties in east tn, eastern ky, and southwest va by funding programs focused on academics, dental health, child protection, and discipleship.

What it reported doing in 2025

(discipleship) ecf is committed to helping children develop a strong christ-centered foundation through faith-based discipleship opportunities within the communities it serves. In accordance with the u.s. Supreme court's decision in zorach v. Clauson, 343 u.s. 306 (1952), which affirmed the constitutionality of off-campus released time religious instruction, ecf coordinated with local churches and school districts to support voluntary, off-campus bible release time programs conducted entirely off public school premises during school hours with written parental or custodial permission. Ecf funded children's ministry ambassadors stationed in underserved counties across its three-state service area to strengthen faith-based community support for children and families in need. Ecf also provided campership funding to enable children from low-income families to attend christian summer camps focused on faith development and character formation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 50% for direct work, and 50% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 94.7%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 98.7%; rating input score 99; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 42.9%; rating input score 43; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 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: 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: 7.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.36; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92% of revenue deployed · 94.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $3.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $433K · 9 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $114K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 37 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 19 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 47/100.