Operation Breakthrough Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 430971560
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Kansas City, MO, USA
- Phone
- 8167563511
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $29,299,897
- Expenses
- $20,092,828
- Assets
- $48,012,957
- Liabilities
- $1,108,049
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
27 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARY ESSELMAN (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- MARY ESSELMAN (CEO): $207,609 total reported compensation
- MARY MULKEY (DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION): $122,048 total reported compensation
- JANIE BISHOP-DEEGAN (ASST DIR SCHOOL AGE PROGRAMMING): $117,739 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide a safe, loving and educational environment for children in poverty and to empower their families through advocacy, emergency aid, and education.
What it reported doing in 2024
Early childhood, school age, and parent services: during fiscal 2025, operation breakthrough operated at or near capacity serving approximately 400 preschoolers and infants in its early childhood education programs, 250 school aged children in its before/after school enrichment programs, and 300 high school students in its youth programs. Supportive services offered include health and wellness, family services, meals, and emergency assistance. Programs are primarily funded by contributions and grants and serve low-income families based on federal guidelines. The program also receives head start funds.
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 95% 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. Reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 79
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.9%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: $28.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- 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: Yes; rating input score 100
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: 31.4%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.39; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 60.9% of revenue deployed · 86.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $17.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $208K · 27 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $212K reported
- Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.