Open Doors For Youth

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
472291925
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Elk River, MN, USA
Phone
7634411473
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Community Service Clubs

Reported finances

Revenue
$383,286
Expenses
$416,521
Assets
$283,624
Liabilities
$16,895

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CINDY S LEY (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • CINDY S LEY (Executive Director): $86,046 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We provide a safe and inclusive environment, where youth are empowered to move towards positive and healthy networks of support, personal well-being and housing stability. See Sch. O

What it reported doing in 2025

Our comprehensive Connections program provides youth-led, trauma- responsive strength-based care. Services are provided at our drop-in center and through outreach to area high schools. We assist youth in identifying goals in the areas of education, employment, well-being, and housing. We provide individualized case management in-house and through partnerships with community service providers who are experts in these fields. We work with 15 key service providers, including a contract mental health clinician who provides free therapy at our drop-in center. See Schedule O

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 24
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.5%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 73.8%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • 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: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8.7%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.68; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.5% of revenue deployed · 73.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $417K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $86K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2019 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.