Payton's Lemonade Stand

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861939617
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2021
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5134045637
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Philanthropy, Charity, Voluntarism Promotion

Reported finances

Revenue
$970,516
Expenses
$958,437
Assets
$163,422
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jessica Obert (Executive Director)
  • Michael Obert (Vice President)
  • Nichole Lawrence (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jessica Obert (Executive Director): $79,736 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To empower the next generation of philanthropists by harnessing the power of kids serving kids.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Community for Kids program included partnering with individuals in the community and other organizations to raise funds and in-kind donations. This included virtual campaigns through our website and social media, in addition to other campaigns such as giving trees around the holidays. These donations included cash, toys, games, books, clothing, jackets, etc. The in-kind donations were given to children facing personal, medical, and economic hardships, and organizations who serve this population.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 89% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 95
  • Accountability: 80
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 92.3%; rating input score 92
  • Program expense ratio: 93.4%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 96.4%; rating input score 96; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.17; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.3%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.5% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.3% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 92.3% of revenue deployed · 93.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $895K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 31 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 20 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.