First Step Learning Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202726032
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2016
Forms available
Form 990 2016
Location
Belvidere, IL, USA
Phone
8155446560
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Child Day Care

Reported finances

Revenue
$0
Expenses
$72,454
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Morgan Vaughn (president)
  • Ruth Todt (vice president)
  • Peggy Kaczmarck (Past president- resigned)
  • Mary Sue Wilson (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Mary Sue Wilson (Executive Director): $44,480 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Provide Day Care Services for children living in Belvidere Illinois, and for low income families subsidized by the state of illinois department of family services.

What it reported doing in 2016

Activites where merged into The First Step 36-2740242 in Fiscal Year 2016.

Operating model

Revenue model
No positive adjusted resources. The filing reports no positive adjusted operating resources.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 31
  • Sustainability: 1
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: Limited
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: Limited
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -31.7% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -15.3% per year; rating input score 0; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -8.1% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $72K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $44K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 13 of 13 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2011 to 2016
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.