Families First

Legal name: Families First Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581054331
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
4048532844
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Family Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,914,509
Expenses
$5,837,804
Assets
$20,517,087
Liabilities
$350,784

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAULA MOODY (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • PAULA MOODY (CEO): $193,296 total reported compensation
  • SCHWANNA C LAKINE (CFO): $161,825 total reported compensation
  • CATHERINE FOSTER (CDO): $123,811 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 improve outcomes for families who have complex challenges by helping them strengthen their resiliency, connecting them to internal programs and external services via community partnerships.

What it reported doing in 2024

Families first's navigator services provide intensive, wraparound case management to families experiencing complex challenges related to housing instability, economic insecurity, health access, and caregiving. Navigators develop individualized care plans, connect clients to community resources, and track progress using standardized resiliency and social determinants of health tools.in fy 2025, families first served 468 households through community navigator services, providing 2,477 community referrals to 310 clients, including 726 referrals for basic needs such as food, housing, and utilities. Clients demonstrated measurable improvements in housing stability, economic security, food access, healthcare access, and social connectedness.navigator services also include two-generation programs:- teenage pregnancy & parenting program (tapp): served 57 pregnant and parenting teens. Outcomes included 100% safe housing, 90% on track to achieve educational goals, and 88% delaying a subsequent unplanned pregnancy while enrolled.- chispa (parents as teachers model): served 45 caregivers, conducted 968 home visits, and delivered 104 play-and-learn sessions. 91% of participating caregivers made good progress or achieved parent-child interaction goals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 70.6%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: -18.8%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.51; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -7% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 96.1% of revenue deployed · 70.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $193K · 29 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $329K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.