Starfish Project Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
274237221
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Goshen, IN, USA
Phone
5745844685
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Human Service Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,281,206
Expenses
$2,990,169
Assets
$1,160,896
Liabilities
$35,034

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jenny McGee (President/Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jenny McGee (President/Executive Director): $61,500 total reported compensation
  • Michelle Connor (Bookkeeper): $51,875 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Restoring hope to exploited women through socially responsible business. Starfish Project, Inc. provides women alternative employment making jewelry and home goods that is sold to help provide counseling, education, health care, as well as food and shelter.

What it reported doing in 2024

Sale of jewelry and home decor in a socially responsible manner for the aid of women in Asia who would otherwise be trapped in human trafficking. These women make the jewelry which is then sold to the public mainly via an online store and wholesale retailers. The net proceeds are then used to continue providing employment, counseling, education, vocational training, health care, and housing in the women's shelter. In many cases, these women also need assistance in providing for their immediate family.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 90.8%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.9%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $62K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.