Seedling Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 742841791
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Austin, TX, USA
- Phone
- 5123236371
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,738,619
- Expenses
- $1,591,207
- Assets
- $3,571,484
- Liabilities
- $301,516
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAN LEAL (CEO)
- MICHAEL DOMINQUEZ (PRESIDENT)
- REGGIE MAHADEO JR (PRESIDENT EL)
Highest reported compensation
- DAN LEAL (CEO): $132,915 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 mitigate the impact of parental incarceration on children in central Texas through school-based mentoring.
What it reported doing in 2024
Seedling's mission is to mitigate the impact of parental incarceration on children in central Texas through school-based mentoring. In 2005, concerned austin isd school principals requested help for a growing population in their schools of children who had an incarcerated parent. The vision was to provide support, encouragement, and a nonjudgmental adult role model for children separated from one or both of their parents as a result of a prison or jail sentence. Seedling now makes new matches of students in 4 school districts and has a presence in 139 schools in central Texas. During the 2024-25 school year, seedling served 506 children and provided scholarships to eighth grade students and seniors. Seedling's average match length was 2 years. 94% of seedling (continued on schedule 0)
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 96% 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
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 63
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 58
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.9%; rating input score 68
- Program expense ratio: 70%; rating input score 70
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th 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; 76th 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- 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: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 8.5%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.24; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.4%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.2% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 67.9% of revenue deployed · 70% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $133K · 17 people listed
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.