Help One Child Mission to Children at Risk

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770330145
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Los Altos, CA, USA
Phone
6509171210
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Children's, Youth Services
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$666,521
Expenses
$706,899
Assets
$104,149
Liabilities
$23,755

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Valerie Crane (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Valerie Crane (Executive Director): $82,395 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We exist to address the unique needs of foster children by providing practical and emotional support to the families in which they are placed. By partnering with local churches and community agencies, our mission is to strengthen foster, adoptive, and at-risk families by providing them with access to education, community, and tangible resources.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educating Families and the Community: 12 Parent Training and Seminars led to 413 parents in attendance. In this last fiscal year we presented to the community 17 times totaling 233 hours of education! We know that 40% of kids in foster care have three or more placements, and by equipping Adoptive, Foster, and Kinship parents to better care for their children we make a tremendous impact in combating that statistic. Foster (Resource) Parents are less likely to initiate placement disruption when they are equipped with education surrounding behavioral challenges and a supportive community of people who understand the unique experience of a foster parent. Each month we host trainings for caregivers to be educated on things such as trauma, attachment, and other adoption-related issues. In addition to those monthly trainings found virtually, we host in-person seminars around the bay area allowing families to go further in-depth in their understanding of the issues affecting their children. And because we know these caregivers can't do it alone, we equip the supportive communities around them. We raise awareness of foster care and who it impacts. We work diligently to break down stereotypes and to push people's understanding of those engaging with the foster care system, and build a foundation of knowledge around trauma and its effects on a developing brain. With understanding individuals can then support the children and families in a more sustainable and meaningful way. (exp class 200+400)

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 85% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.2%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: -6.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.15; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.3% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -29.9% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.2% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 6 filed program accomplishments · $621K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $82K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.