Readiness Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
382589535
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Benton Harbor, MI, USA
Phone
2699264084
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Child Day Care

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$421,408
Expenses
$383,713
Assets
$3,168,061
Liabilities
$3,260

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARTHA THIENEMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • LYNN KALAMAROS (PRESIDENT)
  • KATHERINE SZYMANSKI (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARTHA THIENEMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $76,804 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 provide educational and self-esteem building programs for low-income families to learn the tools necessary to break the cycle of poverty.

What it reported doing in 2024

Teen volunteer work 50/50 program - 12 teens worked as mentors in the city kids program, learning needed job skills. They are paid for 50% of their time and volunteer the rest.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 82% 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.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.6%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.9%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.26; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.6% of revenue deployed · 80% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $307K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $77K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.