The First Step Home Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 311328492
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Cincinnati, OH, USA
- Phone
- 5139614663
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Residential Care & Adult Day Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $4,440,362
- Expenses
- $3,929,029
- Assets
- $6,258,881
- Liabilities
- $485,691
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CASSIDY LEKAN (PRESIDENT/CEO (TO 08/24))
- MORGAN GIBSON (PRESIDENT/CEO (FROM 08/24))
Highest reported compensation
- CASSIDY LEKAN (PRESIDENT/CEO (TO 08/24)): $109,916 total reported compensation
- JANE BENEFIEL (DIR. OF FINANCE): $97,294 total reported compensation
- MORGAN GIBSON (PRESIDENT/CEO (FROM 08/24)): $62,991 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 create compassionate pathways for women's addiction recovery through an integrated continuum of services to achieve self-sufficiency.
What it reported doing in 2024
Outpatient treatment: our typical client begins their treatment in our residential program and then moves to outpatient as they are stabilized in their addiction treatment. Outpatient treatment: most fsh clients begin treatment in the residential program & move to outpatient once stabilized & appropriate for a lower level of care. There are two levels of care in outpatient treatment: intensive and non-intensive. During fiscal year 2025, 109 women received outpatient services, and supportive recovery housing is available for all women receiving outpatient treatment. Almost all women in the intensive program reside in on-site recovery housing. Women who receive non-intensive outpatient services may continue to live in one of our sober houses, though some choose to live off-site. The number of recovery housing bed days for women during this period was 16,684, while 6,627 bed days were provided for the children living with their mothers. Additionally, during fy 2025, the outpatient services provided 564 hours of case management and 479 hours of individual therapy to fsh clients, which helped them cope with their addiction and achieve long-term recovery.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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
STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 64
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 59
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.6%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 68.1%; rating input score 68
- Fundraising efficiency: $26.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- 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: 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: 11.5%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.59; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.9%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 60.6% of revenue deployed · 68.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 18 people listed
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 42/100.