Murphy-harpst Children's Centers Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581543388
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cedartown, GA, USA
Phone
7707481500
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,522,371
Expenses
$13,801,711
Assets
$13,108,977
Liabilities
$1,850,904

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL SCOTT MERRITT (PRESIDENT/CEO/DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL SCOTT MERRITT (PRESIDENT/CEO/DIRECTOR): $195,066 total reported compensation
  • SCOTT FULLER (VP OF ADVANCEMENT): $131,485 total reported compensation
  • KATHRYN LONGSHORE (CFO): $128,352 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Murphy-harpst is a behavioral healthcare organization offering a continuum of services designed to meet the needs of children and youth with emotional and/or behavioral problems.

What it reported doing in 2024

Direct childcare - the organization contributes services to families and children in the foster care system which can include medically fragile children and children with behavioral and developmental challenges. The organization contributes services to families and children in home based care and kinship care.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 84% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.9%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 28th 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: 11.1%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.95; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.9% of revenue deployed · 83% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $11.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $195K · 21 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $185K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.