Rays of Light Where Special Children Shine
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 270491613
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Dallas, TX, USA
- Phone
- 2146920803
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $297,767
- Expenses
- $258,096
- Assets
- $159,809
- Liabilities
- $28,002
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DR STAN COPELAND (CEO/DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- DR STAN COPELAND (CEO/DIRECTOR): $293,032 total reported compensation
- KATHY SHOCKLEY (EXECUTIVE DI): $47,738 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Rays of light is dedicated to providing free, quality respite care to families with children with special needs and their siblings in the dallas metropolitan area. Together with our volunteers, we strive to provide support and relief to the families through our respite care program called night lights. Rays of light educates and informs the local community about the needs and achievements of special children.
What it reported doing in 2024
Together with our dedicated, compassionate volunteers, rays of light creates a unique evening for the children on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd fridays of every month (excluding january and july) from 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. On the campus of lovers lane umc, on the 1st friday at white rock united methodist and on the 3rd friday a spanish-speaking outreach site at christ foundry methodist mission. For families with a child with special needs, it is constant: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It puts such a strain physically, emotionally and financially. Night lights gives the parents the opportunity to have four free hours and the children get four hours of socialization and interaction with their volunteers and peers. Giving the parents time, even if only once a month, can transform families. And with one on one volunteer relationship with our special kids, it is a time for that child to shine
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 93% 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 63%; rating input score 63
- Program expense ratio: 72.7%; rating input score 73
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 13.3%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.62; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 55%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 63% of revenue deployed · 72.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $188K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $293K · 12 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 4 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 32/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.