Little Heroes League

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
822475198
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
8478610250
Rating
63
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Public Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,517,022
Expenses
$1,449,870
Assets
$640,859
Liabilities
$724

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Brenden Etue (Executive Dir.): $203,959 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Little Heroes League helps babies born with multiple health challenges achieve their best life outcomes by providing early life care coordination that begins as early as birth and continues through hospital discharge while at home. Specifically, the Foundation pays for specialized care coordinators, all registered nurses and social workers, to coordinate the various health components of healthcare and services for infants born with complex medical conditions.

What it reported doing in 2024

Little Heroes League helps babies born with multiple health challenges achieve their best life outcomes by providing early life care coordination that begins as early as birth and continues through hospital discharge and home care. Specifically, Little Heroes League pays for specialized care coordinators, registered nurses and social workers, who coordinate the various components of healthcare and services for infants born with complex medical conditions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 76% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 63.6%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.4%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.1%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35.8% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61% of revenue deployed · 63.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $923K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $204K · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.