Exceptional Childrens Assistance Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581715420
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Davidson, NC, USA
Phone
7048921321
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Family Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,884,378
Expenses
$1,680,732
Assets
$520,102
Liabilities
$92,616

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Aimee Combs (Executive Dir.): $92,999 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Exceptional Childrens Assistance Center (ECAC) is a statewide, non-profit parent organization committed to improving the lives and education of children with disabilities and special health care needs. At ECAC our work is guided and informed by our core values and principles that are the foundation of our workplace. We are an organization that works to make everyone feel valued and accepted. We maintain an open-minded approach when assisting families and working with the community and each other to establish trust. ECAC helps families in navigating and understanding health systems, early intervention, special education and the transition to adulthood. In addition, ECAC prepares youth with disabilities for the transition to adulthood by providing training on job exploration counseling, self-advocacy, financial literacy, workplace readiness and more. We are parents of children with disabilities who support other parents of children with disabilities ages birth to 26, youth with disab

What it reported doing in 2024

All Other Programs Expenses ECAC is a member of the Region B National Parent Technical Assistance (RPTAC) Network, supporting 25 federally funded parent centers across 12 southeastern statesfrom Virginia to Florida and west to Texas. Through a contract with Parent to Parent of Georgia, an ECAC staff member serves as Co-Director of the Region B PTAC.In this role, ECAC provides board training, strategic planning, and technical assistance on topics such as reaching underserved families, nonprofit governance, fiscal management, and program evaluation.To ensure ECACs work remains family-centered and youth-driven, we engage the Family Advisory Board and Youth Advisory Teams. These advisory groups offer feedback, co-create materials, co-present trainings, and help plan events and outreach activities. ECAC continually seeks opportunities for families to use their lived experience to improve systems of care for families and youth.Family engagement and leadership are woven into every aspect of ECACs work. We are recognized as a state leader in family engagement, leadership development, and family-centered care. ECAC staff participate in more than 30 local, state, and national initiatives to improve outcomes for families and youth.The Family Engagement Manager coordinates ECACs multiple projects in this area and leads our annual Family Engagement Month activities each November. This includes collaboration with community partners and securing a Governors Proclamation recognizing November as Family Engagement Month. ECAC also provides training and technical assistance to organizations and schools on authentic family-engagement best practices.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 88% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.8%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 89.4%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • 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: 10.8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.31; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.5%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.8% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.8% of revenue deployed · 89.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $93K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.