Our Kids Read Association Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 833401365
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
- Location
- Laurel, MD, USA
- Phone
- 9176863629
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $656,402
- Expenses
- $611,329
- Assets
- $47,825
- Liabilities
- $41,746
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JAHMAL LAKE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
People named in this filing
- JAHMAL LAKE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- MYRLEEN SPRINGER (TREASURER)
- DENISE DOIG (SECRETARY)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission is to promote the love of physically diverse books with children ages 4-12 and to use technology to connect our students and mentors with diverse books that encourage, inspire, and educate.
What it reported doing in 2024
Reading (and being read to) has been linked to all sorts of amazing benefits, including enhancing creativity, releasing endorphins (positive effect on mood), increasing empathy, decreasing stress, enhancing memory, improving school performance, and increasing vocabulary. In addition, a long-term study by the anne e. Casey foundation found that students who were not proficient in reading by the end of third grade were four times more likely to drop out of high school than proficient readers. The study further concluded that 88 percent of students who failed to earn a high school diploma were struggling readers in third grade.our kids read is therefore focusing on pre-k through 5th grade as the target for our reading programs in hopes of creating lifelong readers to reap the benefits of reading and all of its benefits.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 69% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 85
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.4%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 90.6%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $137.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 80.1%; rating input score 80; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- 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: 6.9%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.08; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.87; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 66% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.4% of revenue deployed · 90.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $554K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 25 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.