The Children's Council of Watauga County Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581416331
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Boone, NC, USA
Phone
8282625424
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,619,688
Expenses
$2,159,024
Assets
$1,031,845
Liabilities
$3,926

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELISHA CHILDERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELISHA CHILDERS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $91,830 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To build a strong foundation for children's learning and development by strengthening families, the early childhood system, and the wider community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Family support programswe offer support groups, parenting consultation, parenting classes/programs, family support services, a diaper bank, teen parenting program and home visits to offer support and services to families as well as help connect them with community resources. Over 1,543 families were served in our family support and parent education programs which included:-parents as teachers programs - served 45 parents and 49 children. Monthly home visits were delievered (1-2/month per family), developmental assessments were completed on children who were eligible after 90 days in the program, and 12 group sessions held. -circle of parents support programs - 3 support groups provided services to 93 parents and 62 children. 128 support group sessions held. -incredible years - parenting class served 32 parents and 24 children. -triple p services were provided to 106 parents and 168 children. 3 level-3 disscussion groups held this year; 3 level-2 seminars held this year; 60 level-2 tip sheet interventions held, 1 level 4 (intense) intervention completed; 5 level 3 brief primary care interventions completed.- diaper bank - 160,442 diapers were provied to 779 children. This is a significant increase from previous years largely due to increased need following hurricane helene.-postpartum support group - met 42 weeks of the year and served 22 parents.-circle of security parent class served 17 parents and 18 children.-kaleidoscope play & learn group served 60 parents, 5 providers, and 85 children.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 66% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 46% for direct work, and 54% for grants.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.5%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 89.1%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $957.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 86.7%; rating input score 87; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.9%; rating input score 98; 34th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17.6%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.5% of revenue deployed · 89.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $1.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $92K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 32 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 20 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 11 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.