Smart Start of Forsyth County

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561899564
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Winston Salem, NC, USA
Phone
3367256011
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,751,011
Expenses
$10,714,064
Assets
$93,145
Liabilities
$74,967

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Louis Finney (Chief Executive Officer)

Highest reported compensation

  • Louis Finney (Chief Executive Officer): $165,223 total reported compensation
  • Elizabeth Wallace (Chief Financial Officer): $99,016 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 promote equitable access to quality, comprehensive early childhood development and education in response to the needs of our community.

What it reported doing in 2024

CHILD CARE HEALTH CONSULTATION (3414): Child Care Health Consultant Smart Start funds may be used to cover expenses for community partners and early educators/administrators' meetings and/or community health & safety fair, health screenings, community baby shower, childcare providers conference, other community health & safety related events. Health and safety materials, in the form of cash/non-cash grants and based on needs identified in the NC Child Care Health and Safety Assessment and Encounter Tool, may be provided to eligible participants in accordance with locally approved policies & procedures. The Child Care Health Consultation model follows the North Carolina CCHC Service Model for implementation of the activity by providing the following services to childcare facilities, staff and others as needed. Services that are provided using Smart Start dollars in this activity include: (1) Technical assistance: Technical assistance (in the form of coaching and modeling) provided to early childhood educators working in licensed and/or G.S. 110 childcare facilities serving children birth to five years old. The Technical Assistance will be focused on improving the capacity of providers to identify and promote healthy and safe environments for children in childcare settings. (2) Training for childcare providers: Training for DCDEE credit hours provided on health and safety education related topics and coordination of CEU opportunities. The NC Child Care Health and Safety Assessment and Encounter Tool will be used to conduct classroom-based assessments to develop a quality improvement plan, informing technical assistance and training. Documentation is maintained for all technical assistance and training. The Child Care Health Consultant (CCHC) is a Registered Nurse with a Degree in Nursing (ASN or BSN) or a health professional with a minimum of a bachelor's degree in health education or a health-related field. The health professional is or will become a qualified CCHC in North Carolina through the completion of the NC Child Care Health Consultant Training Course and receipt of a certificate of qualification.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 74% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 95
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.7%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 95.1%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $217.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 4th 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: 93.4%; rating input score 93; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 84.2%; rating input score 84; 18th 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: 0.3%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.01; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.8; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -23.5% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.7% of revenue deployed · 95.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 17 filed program accomplishments · $10.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $165K · 21 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $192K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 30 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 56 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 54 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.