Jack's Basket

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814310519
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2025
Location
Arden Hills, MN, USA
Phone
6514568321
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Down Syndrome

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,928,854
Expenses
$1,601,016
Assets
$2,007,222
Liabilities
$112,198

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CARISSA CARROLL (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • CARISSA CARROLL (CEO): $151,023 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Jack's basket is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission to celebrate babies with down syndrome. We serve every baby possible with a primary focus on those in the u.s. We support families from time of diagnosis to baby 1st birthday. We do this better than any organization by focusing on three primary activities: 1. Engaging, educating, and empowering healthcare providers to comminicate and discuss down syndrome accurately without bias, 2. Inspiring and connecting new parents with other families and recources and 3. Building awareness and changing the narrative of down syndrome in society.

What it reported doing in 2025

Resources and support: jack's basket provides resources to new families and avenues to connect within the community. They provide information from the national down syndrome society, help me grow, down syndrome diagnosis network, down syndrome association of mn, pacer mn, gigi's playhouse, and other organizations within the community along with baby gifts in celebration of the new baby. New and expectant families are provided the resources by way of a basket containing a letter from jack's family, brochures, books and gifts to celebrate their child. During 2024, 2,025 baskets were delivered throughout the united states and the world. Since inception over 10,000 baskets have been delivered to families in 50 states and 43 countries. Jack's basket provides medical outreach to health care providers that deliver a diagnosis of down syndrome to new families and best practice when sharing the unexpected news. We train and prepare nurses, genetic counselors, physicians, social workers and other medical staff at the hospital and clinics.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 58.3%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 68.7%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 27th 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; 78th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.25; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 26.5% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 58.3% of revenue deployed · 68.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $151K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.