Options Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 721161001
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Hammond, LA, USA
- Phone
- 9853456269
- Rating
- 90
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Developmentally Disabled Centers
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $8,253,384
- Expenses
- $8,836,253
- Assets
- $7,256,355
- Liabilities
- $550,876
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CARRIE MERCKE (CEO/PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- KIMBERLY SIMS (RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM COORDINATOR): $125,771 total reported compensation
- CARRIE MERCKE (CEO/PRESIDENT): $77,351 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Options has been improving the lives of hundreds of people with disabilities through maximizing life skills, meaningful work and activities, community inclusion, and providing support beyond the family.
What it reported doing in 2024
Options provides people with disabilities with meaningful work opportunities through job placement and supported employment. People with disabilities have competitive jobs in the community through options job placement, job coaching, and ongoing supports. They work at businesses such as banks, offices, grocery stores, restaurants, retail stores, and government agencies. People with disabilities have jobs through options supported employment program. These individuals work on options cleaning crews, lawn maintenance crew, learning gardens, weaving studio, and at fabulous finds. In our rural community, jobs can be scarce, especially for people with disabilities. Over 80% of people with disabilities in the u.s. Are not employed and this program is just one solution to this problem. Options seeks opportunities and contracts with area businesses or starts new businesses to directly employ people with disabilities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 72% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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.
The verdict
STRONG - 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: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.8%; rating input score 99
- Program expense ratio: 91.9%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th 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: 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: -7.1%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.82; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.2% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 98.8% of revenue deployed · 91.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $8.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $126K · 13 people listed
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.