Nebraska Children and Families Foundation
Legal name: Nebraska Children & Families Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 911829974
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
- Phone
- (402) 476-9401
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Federated Giving Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $44,062,974
- Expenses
- $43,709,118
- Assets
- $53,973,821
- Liabilities
- $4,986,702
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
33 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARY JO PANKOKE (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MARY JO PANKOKE (PRESIDENT): $246,076 total reported compensation
- KEVIN CLOONAN (CFO): $215,796 total reported compensation
- JENNIFER SKALA (EVP): $213,556 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Nebraska Children and Families Foundation builds and strengthens systems so all Nebraska children and families can thrive.
What it reported doing in 2024
Connected youth communities: connected youth initiative (cyi) is an innovative, youth-led initiative that has achieved success addressing the policies affecting youth aging out of foster care. Cyi works to actively remove barriers that keep youth in foster care from achieving permanence, educational achievement, employment, housing, physical and mental health, personal and community engagement, and economic success. We're currently assisting in the development of connected youth communities and collaborations across rural Nebraska to help young people with exxperience in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, struggling with homelessness, or who are disconnected from a family structure.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 61% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 90
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 91%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 91%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $77.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd 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: 99.8%; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.23; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 91% of revenue deployed · 91% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $39.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $246K · 33 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 150 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 139 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.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.