Stepping Stones Learning Center
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 161467135
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2014
- Forms available
- Form 990 2014
- Location
- Rochester, NY, USA
- Phone
- 5854674567
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Specialized Education Institutions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,227,719
- Expenses
- $5,962,058
- Assets
- $6,054,710
- Liabilities
- $5,184,567
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Mariellen Cupini (President/CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- Mariellen Cupini (President/CEO): $168,796 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide educational services to children birth to 21 years of age, with and without identified special needs through quality programs and services in order to achieve the highest level of success for all participants.
What it reported doing in 2014
Educational services are provided to toddlers and preschool age children without and with disabled and non-developmentally disabled special needs. The Organization also works with the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities serving children from the age of 3 to 21. There were approximately 525 children serviced during the current fiscal year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 90% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - 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: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 76
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 48
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.2%; rating input score 82
- Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 22nd 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: 4.3%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.86; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.8%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 82.2% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $169K · 12 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D expense reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.