Empowering Kids Perham
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 822099328
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Perham, MN, USA
- Phone
- 2183462322
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,068,134
- Expenses
- $1,465,340
- Assets
- $1,172,038
- Liabilities
- $487,040
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Justine Anderson (Executive Director (As of 1/25))
- Tiffany Schroeer (Executive Director (Until 11/24))
Highest reported compensation
- Christi Stoll (Secretary/Clerk/Office Man): $100,377 total reported compensation
- Tiffany Schroeer (Executive Director (Until 11/24)): $86,720 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 empower children, families, and the community by providing support and resources to those with autism or social challenges.
What it reported doing in 2024
After-School Groups and Summer Skills GroupsEmpowering Kids offers essential after-school and summer programming for individuals with autism, ADHD, and other related social challenges. Participants, ranging from ages 10 to 19, come together to learn, grow, and connect in a supportive environment.During the past year:-After-School Groups welcomed 12 participants, each attending for two hours weekly.-Summer Social Groups served 18 participants, with sessions running four hours each week.Continued on Schedule O... To keep these opportunities accessible, Empowering Kids offers affordable and reduced rates for families facing financial hardship.Programming combines small-group instruction with structured activities that focus on:-Social-emotional skills - conversation, play, and greetings.-Self-regulation and emotional management - strategies to manage emotions across settings.-Healthy relationships and friendships - understanding boundaries, fostering connections, and developing social awareness.-Life skills - navigating community spaces, problem-solving, and building independence.-Understanding individual disabilities - developing self-awareness and empowerment through education about personal diagnoses.A hallmark of the program is experiential learning through community outings, which allow participants to apply skills in real-world settings. This year's outings included bowling alleys, state parks, museums, zoos, flower fields, and lake days - experiences many participants might not otherwise access. These adventures nurture inclusion, confidence, and a sense of discovery.Beyond direct impact on participants, the program also provides meaningful respite for caregivers, giving families time to recharge while their loved ones engage in enriching and supportive activities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 85% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 77
- Sustainability: 18
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 76.3%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th 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: 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: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -37.2%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.8; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.42; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.8%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 24.3% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 76.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $100K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.