Operation Lookout National Center For Missing Yout

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911298249
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2013
Forms available
Form 990 2013
Location
Everett, WA, USA
Rating
51
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Crime Prevention

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$622,950
Expenses
$603,940
Assets
$61,455
Liabilities
$68,037

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Michael B Gibson (President)

People named in this filing

  • Michael B Gibson (President)
  • Roger Ward (Vice ChairSecretary)
  • Melody C Gibson (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2013. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Operation Lookout National Center for Missing Youth's mission is to alert the public about who is missing, ask for help in finding the missing, tell the public where to turn for help, and provide no-charge case manager and search assistance for families whose children vanished.

What it reported doing in 2013

OPERATION LOOKOUT in its 29th year is a singular program with the goal of providing free support to parents and legal custodians with missing, abducted and runaway children. Services provided to law enforcement and clients may include investigative case management, systems walk-through, victim advocacy, social and legal services referral, and custom poster design and picture distribution; the web site provides a quick reference point for parent registration and public education. To INCREASE THE REACH, up to a million USA citizens are contacted by phone, media, and mail to increase exposure of missing children and to notify parents where to turn in time of need. Each contact promotes a voluntary call to action and/or a community safety message knowing who's who in your neighborhood or how to report child abuse campaigns. A 24/7 Helpline at 1-800-LOOKOUT (566-5688) has been manned by a team of professionals trained for triage dispatch since 1984.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 26
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 59
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 28.6%; rating input score 29
  • Program expense ratio: 29.5%; rating input score 29
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.1%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.1; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.11; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -32.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -24.1% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 28.6% of revenue deployed · 29.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $178K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $117K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2012 to 2013
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 29/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.