Sterling Co Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
462455801
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Gadsden, AL, USA
Phone
2564391575
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$35,512,626
Expenses
$35,141,687
Assets
$13,737,471
Liabilities
$4,264,352

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KATHY WEST (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

People named in this filing

  • MIKE SELF (CHAIR)
  • TONY SNOW (SECRETARY)
  • SCOTT MAYO (MEMBER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To provide healthcare and management services primarily to those organizations serving mentally disabled citizens.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provision of healthcare and management services to those organizations serving mentally disabled adults.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 93
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 98.7%; rating input score 99
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.31; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97% of revenue deployed · 98.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $34.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $37.9M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 45/100.