Red Caboose Child Care Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391154686
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6082561566
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,806,996
Expenses
$2,539,564
Assets
$8,039,119
Liabilities
$4,347,135

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Blake Roberts Crall (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lisa Fiala (Executive Dir.): $104,383 total reported compensation
  • Cheryl Heiman - Teacher (Director): $76,605 total reported compensation
  • KATHLEEN GILBERTSON - Teacher (Director): $17,485 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Red caboose fosters a sense of community among children, their families, and staff, with a commitment to diversity and inclusion. We provide excellent education, nutrition, and play-based learning for children in a nurturing, safe environment emphasizing healthy social-emotional development.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the fiscal year, red caboose child care center, inc. EIN: 39-1154686 provided high-quality child care and educational programming to 188 unduplicated children who attended between one and five days per week. The organization offered services at three locations: red caboose child care center 2346 winnebago st, lapham elementary school 1045 e dayton st, and marquette elementary school 1501 jennifer st. Specifically, 60 unduplicated children were served at the child care center, while 128 unduplicated children participated in the after-school and summer programs at lapham and marquette elementary schools. Across all programs and sites, red caboose emphasized a nurturing, safe environment with a focus on play-based learning, healthy development, nutrition, and creative, engaging educational activities led by qualified teachers and staff.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 77
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.6%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 80.3%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $44.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 77; 77th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 9.5%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.17; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.54; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.8%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.4% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.9% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.6% of revenue deployed · 80.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $104K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.