Fort Worth Cradle to Career

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
844203777
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Fort Worth, TX, USA
Phone
8175655997
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,405,285
Expenses
$9,292,186
Assets
$15,496,433
Liabilities
$5,040,392

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • REGINA WILLIAMS (VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAM OP)
  • NATALIE WILLIAMS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • NATALIE WILLIAMS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $243,152 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT CRAMER (DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY): $119,380 total reported compensation
  • MICHELLE JACKSON-BELL (MANAGING DIRECTOR OF OPERA): $114,717 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 bring collaborative, systemic change for students in order to improve overall quality of life and to position tarrant county as a leading producer of high-quality talent.

What it reported doing in 2024

The postsecondary pathways department supports the t3 mission and the vision for the future of tarrant county students by providing holistic college and career advising/navigation to high school students. Our program pairs advisors with students who will walk alongside them to develop an informed plan for after high school (aligned to their strengths and interests) and execute their plan once they reach their senior year in high school. Our program also assists students with matriculation to our partner colleges/universities through a summer melt program. In addition to our student programming, our team also exists to partner closely with district and campusbased staff to provide thought partnership, coaching, and resources to support overall college and career readiness. To date, our department has supported five cohorts with matriculation at our partner colleges/universities totaling over 8,600 students and completion of over 7,000 postsecondary success plans.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 53
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 70
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 39.4%; rating input score 39
  • Program expense ratio: 73.5%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

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: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 46.6%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.67; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.3%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 38% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 37.5% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 43% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 39.4% of revenue deployed · 73.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $243K · 19 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $431K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 39/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.