Friends of the Children - Austin

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822604098
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5127176701
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Adult, Child Matching Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,371,361
Expenses
$5,437,915
Assets
$6,885,295
Liabilities
$714,200

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARILYN MANZO-DAWSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • NANCY POLLARD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - PRIOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARILYN MANZO-DAWSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $183,273 total reported compensation
  • WAYNE YOUNG (FINANCE AND OPERATIONS DIR): $162,737 total reported compensation
  • NANCY POLLARD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR - PRIOR): $162,046 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Friends of the children - austin has a mission of impacting generational change by empowering youth who are facing the greatest obstacles through relationships and professional mentors 12+ years, no matter what. 92% go on to enroll in post-secondary education, serve our country, or enter the workforce. 83% graduate high school or earn a ged, 93% avoid juvenile justice system involvement, and 98% wait to parent until after their teen years.

What it reported doing in 2024

Youth in the friends program face considerable challenges, including placement in the foster care system, under-resourced neighborhood schools, homelessness, hunger, and challenges in access to and quality of health care. Despite these barriers, program youth enter adulthood with strong foundations for continuing achievement: 92% go on to enroll in post-secondary education, serve our country or enter the workforce, 83% graduate high school or earn a ged, 93% avoid juvenile justice system involvement, and 98% wait to parent until after their teen years.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The program-spending lines do not add up, so the filing cannot show reliably whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
  • 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.9%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 80.4%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 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: -1.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.1% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.9% of revenue deployed · 80.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $183K · 31 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.