Stars Nashville

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
621285699
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Nashville, TN, USA
Phone
6152790058
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alcohol, Drug Abuse, Prevention Only

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,511,432
Expenses
$14,007,630
Assets
$12,074,011
Liabilities
$1,644,901

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

Leadership & pay

46 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RODGER DINWIDDIE (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • RODGER DINWIDDIE (CEO): $254,831 total reported compensation
  • CYNTHIA WHETSTONE (CFO): $163,759 total reported compensation
  • SANDRA SCHMAHL (COO): $112,587 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Stars helps young people by offering access to prevention, intervention, & treatment services in schools & communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Other program services includes the following programs: power youth that provides access to employment and on the job training for davidson county college students teaching social and emotional skills; opioid awareness program designed to increase awareness on the dangers of opioids and stimulants, and the available resources for opioid overdose prevention. The vaping awareness/coalition is also included in other program services. The goal of the samhsa funded vaping awareness coalition, nashville thrives, is to increase capacity of diverse stakeholders, including youth service providers and community organizations, to prevent the onset and decrease the progression of ecigarette and other substance misuse among children and youth ages 25 and under. The coalition works to ensure every nashvillian can improve, achieve and sustain health and well-being by advocating, facilitating and creating community-driven policies, systems, resources and services. Stars training programs are a leader in Tennessee providing youth prevention curriculum & resources to students across the state. We also provide training and professional development for entire school systems, school administrators, teachers, guidance counselors and other school support personnel to address nonacademic barriers that challenge students on a daily basis, such as bullying prevention, restorative practices, move 2 stand and cultural competency. 43,000 individuals were served through all these programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 70% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

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

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.5%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 92.2%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 66th 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.7%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.86; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.5% of revenue deployed · 92.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 41 of 41 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $12.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $255K · 46 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.