Knitted Knockers Support Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472406424
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Bellingham, WA, USA
Phone
3605953278
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Health - General and Rehabilitative N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$213,557
Expenses
$134,631
Assets
$236,134
Liabilities
$1,861

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Barbara Demorest (Vice President)
  • Patricia DeFreeuw (President)

People named in this filing

  • Barbara Demorest (Vice President)
  • Peter David (Director)
  • Terri Hickox (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Connect volunter knitters with breast cancer survivors, offering free alternatives to traditional breast prothesis.

What it reported doing in 2025

Recruit knitters and crocheters. Our programs exist to inspire and equip thousands of volunteer knitters and crocheters to provide the inventory of knitted knockers to provide to the women requesting them through their own communities, medical clinics or nationally. This has occurred through the utilization of 197 State Providers who fill orders from their various states that come in through knittedknockers.org and over 6,780 registered groups of knitters and crocheters donating over 502,000 hours in 2025. Volunteers are recruited by going to crafting conventions where thousands of knitters and crocheters convene to enjoy their craft as well as manufacturers of yarn and needles thereby expanding the reach to potential volunteers to use their crafting skills to help others as well as word of mouth. Knittedknockers.org provides patterns for knitters and crocheters (downloaded over 2,305,000 times), video tutorials on how to make great knockers, videos about knitted knockers (viewed over 750,000 times), and information for medical clinics on how to register and provide this service free to their patients. It is a one stop place for how to request free knitted knockers and how to supply them. In addition to the estimated 502,000 hours donated by knitters/crocheters an additional 9,772 hours have been donated processing and delivering knitted knockers in 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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 a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 58
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.4%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 37%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.75; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.4% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $117K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 55/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.