Sit Stay Read Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 200151074
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 7736619251
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Remedial Reading, Reading Encouragement
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $429,365
- Expenses
- $497,155
- Assets
- $69,871
- Liabilities
- $37,718
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- QIANA MCNARY (CO-PRESIDENT)
- SARAH INCIONG (CO-PRESIDENT)
- DEIRDRE HARRISON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- DEIRDRE HARRISON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $148,186 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 advance children's literacy skills using an engaging curriculum, certified dogs, and dedicated volunteers.
What it reported doing in 2024
The program provides literacy services to children from low-income households in chicago public schools at no cost to the parents or schools. The mission is to advance children's literacy skills using an engaging curriculum, certified dogs, and dedicated volunteers. During 2022-23, sitstayread's 20th year, with the help of 75 human and 25 canine volunteers, sitstay read served 1,847 students in 116 classrooms across 18 chicago public schools using three different remote learning programs developed for students in kindergarten through third grade. In addition to the remote learning curriculum, sitstayread provided more than 20,000 books to students during their pandemic learning year. Dogs enable the organization to tackle the serious issue of childhood literacy in a fun and engaging way. Ssr's defining characteristic is incorporating the therapeutic benefit of dogs in the classroom. Students who read out loud to a dog are less likely to feel worried about making mistakes, which helps them become more confident readers.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 57
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 13
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 65.1%; rating input score 65
- Program expense ratio: 56.2%; rating input score 56
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st 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: 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: -15.8%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.14; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.54; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 29.8%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.6% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 65.1% of revenue deployed · 56.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $279K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $148K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.