Telamon
Legal name: Telamon Corporation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 561022483
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Jun 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
- Phone
- 9198517611
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $63,936,850
- Expenses
- $60,646,620
- Assets
- $32,771,607
- Liabilities
- $10,846,767
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SUZANNE OROZCO (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- SUZANNE OROZCO (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $213,499 total reported compensation
- JEFFREY PEDERSON (SVP, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY): $156,748 total reported compensation
- PATRICIA KINGERY (VP, ECFS): $154,644 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Telamon | TRC disrupts the cycle of poverty by empowering families to overcome barriers to success. We promote early childhood education through our Head Start programs — and encourage parents — with diverse services, from child development education to family support services. Telamon provides services primarily through Head Start centers in five states: Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Meet Merina.** Formerly a nanny, Merina has always been interested in helping people. Since her aunt was a retired paramedic and her grandma a retired nurse, Merina believes that service-oriented work is in her blood. Asa hardworking single mom, Merina needed support for her three-year-old son, Jaylin when she decided to pursue a career in the healthcare field. [.
What it reported doing in 2024
Housing and financial empowerment services - programs help customers build financial security through secure, affordable, and safe housing options. Array of services include transitional and permanent housing support, eviction prevention, and utility and energy assistance. This also includes one on one counseling, coaching, and group workshops on mortgage protection, fair housing, homebuyer and renter education, and personal finance and budgeting.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 96% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 96
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 87%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 91.2%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5.1%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 87% of revenue deployed · 91.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $55.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $213K · 20 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.7M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 39 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.
- 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.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.