Lets Start Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431601320
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Saint Louis, MO, USA
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Inmate Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$191,032
Expenses
$284,992
Assets
$157,906
Liabilities
$5,734

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CATHERINE KEEFE (PRESIDENT)
  • LUCY LIGGETT (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RACHEL S CRAMSEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • RACHEL S CRAMSEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $63,461 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Lets start aims to break the cycle of incarceration in families by working with formerly incarcerated women and their children to support re-entry and recovery, mitigate the impact of parental imprisonment, educate the public and inform policy

What it reported doing in 2017

1) during the year, over 600 unduplicated women participated in the weekly group meetings at st. Vincents church, the st. Louis county jail, and the medium security institute in st. Louis city. 100% of women surveyed in support groups reported that their participation in the lets start program helps them make positive choices about drugs and/or alcohol use. Of the women surveyed, 97% said their involvement with lets start has helped them feel more confident in problem solving, and 94% report having a better relationship with their families. Lets start continues to provide free clinics including legal, counseling, child support, and a parenting clinic to connect women with professionals who can help them attain their goals. Finally, 73% of women say that since attending lets start they have reached out for positive financial, moral, social, and emotional support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The required major-donor schedule is missing or incomplete and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • 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: -49.2%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.55; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.3%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.7% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $220K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $63K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2010 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.