The Carrot Project Corp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475187704
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2017
Forms available
Form 990 2017
Location
Kaukauna, WI, USA
Phone
9207595811
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,541
Expenses
$20,462
Assets
$8,904
Liabilities
$41,377

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2017. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CARISSA HOLTZ (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • SARA LORNSON (ASSISTANT DI)
  • NANCY LORNSON (TREASURER)
  • THOMAS LORNSON (VICE PRESIDE)

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 2017. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to apply traditional and non-traditional learning approaches to maximize effective understanding and comprehension retention among youth and young adults.

What it reported doing in 2017

Apply traditional and non-traditional learning approaches to youth and young adults

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 62% 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 6
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.2%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 87.6%; rating input score 88
  • 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: No; rating input score 0
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 4.65; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 39.3% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 77.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 62.6% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.2% of revenue deployed · 87.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 8 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $18K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2015 to 2017
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Major donor itemization scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.