The Growing Place Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362760908
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Dekalb, IL, USA
Phone
8157565744
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,508,559
Expenses
$1,495,637
Assets
$666,175
Liabilities
$109,832

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CAITLIN LEE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • PAULA HOWLETT (PRESIDENT)
  • MARGE ROSEBERG (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CAITLIN LEE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $81,924 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Growing Place, Inc. provides quality child care for children from the age of six weeks to twelve years old.

What it reported doing in 2023

The Growing Place, Inc. operated four facilities serving approximately 200 children on a yearly basis. Programs include a part-day nursury school, a full-day year round childcare program, a half-day child care program for kindergarten age children, an after school program, and a summer camp. The children range in age from six weeks to twelve years.

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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.7%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.33 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.9%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.5%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.7% of revenue deployed · 82.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $82K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2012 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.