Let's Grow Kids Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
311802348
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Middlebury, VT, USA
Phone
8023883355
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,719,800
Expenses
$5,850,570
Assets
$6,664,472
Liabilities
$203,582

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICK DAVIS (PRESIDENT)
  • JENNIFER WILLIAMS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ALYSON RICHARDS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • DANIEL SMITH (SECRETARY): $320,185 total reported compensation
  • ALYSON RICHARDS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $214,364 total reported compensation
  • SARAH KENNEY (SR DIRECTOR OF POLICY AND FIELD): $165,945 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 ensure affordable access to high-quality child care for all Vermont families by 2025.

What it reported doing in 2024

Let's grow kids mission is to ensure that by 2025 all children in Vermont can access and afford high-quality child care. In service of this mission let's grow kids 1.) engages vermonters from all walks of life in solving the child care crisis; 2.) reforms early childhood education policy to be inclusive, race-conscious, and culturally informed; and, 3.) strengthens Vermont's child care system in partnership with early childhood educators. Ia. In 2024 key accomplishments include 1.) inspiring new supporters to join the campaign calling for policy change and increased public investment; 2.) the child care contribution tax (act 76) taking effect 3.) strengthened the early childhood education system in partnership with early childhood educators, including the creation statewide of several new child care spaces with use of the hud grant.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 70% for direct work, and 30% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 70.1%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th 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: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 21.7%; rating input score 22; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 20th 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: -115.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.14; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 70.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $320K · 13 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 7 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: Grant itemization coverage scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.