Families First in Southern Vermont Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
030353100
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brattleboro, VT, USA
Phone
8022754919
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Centers to Support the Independence of Specific Populations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,410,572
Expenses
$11,485,950
Assets
$5,690,868
Liabilities
$933,235

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANDY DAVIS (PRESIDENT)
  • JULIE CUNNINGHAM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIE CUNNINGHAM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $163,721 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 provide family-friendly services for children and adults living with a disability. Our services will promote independent living, enhance self-esteem and cultivate community membership through caring and respectful relationships.

What it reported doing in 2024

Families first in southern Vermont, inc. Offers home and shared living supports ranging from strengthening family-based living options to offering a few scheduled hours per week in a consumer's home helping them develop life skills (such as cooking, housekeeping, and personal finance) to 24/7 contracted support in a shared living provider's home. This program focuses on ensuring the consumer's health and safety, maximizing independence, addressing individual preferences and needs, creating a supportive and inclusive home environment, and enhancing quality of life.

Operating model

Revenue model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent revenue detail to tell how this nonprofit funds its work.
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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.4%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 89.8%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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; 66th 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: Pass
    • 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: -0.7%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.4%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.7% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.4% of revenue deployed · 89.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $10.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $164K · 9 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $706K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 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: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.