Operation Shoestring Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
640471554
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Jackson, MS, USA
Phone
6013536336
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,977,093
Expenses
$2,018,872
Assets
$6,954,546
Liabilities
$96,410

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATIE LIGHTSEY BROWNING (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • VON GORDON (PRESIDENT)
  • ROBERT LANGFORD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT LANGFORD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $222,445 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 invest in the hearts and minds of our children and their families, to promote health and self-sufficiency, and faithfully extend the hand of hope and opportunity to empower the needy, uplift our target neighborhoods and the larger community, and brighten the future for us all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Project rise afterschool and summer program: operation shoestring's project rise afterschool and summer program provided engaging educational, artistic, and social-emotional development activities for 185 pre-kindergarten through 5th grade students in the academic year, and for 176 pre-kindergarten through 7th grade students in the summer term. The vast majority of project rise's students are enrolled at walton and galloway elementary schools, with the others largely enrolled in other jackson public schools' lanier high school feeder pattern schools. Independent evaluations show that our work has a positive impact on the academic and behavioral development of students enrolled in our program. For instance, students enrolled in our program tend to outperform their peers in standardized tests (maap exams) and have higher school attendance than their school peers not enrolled in our program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.4%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 70.6%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.44; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.4% of revenue deployed · 70.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $222K · 16 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $543K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 38/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.