The Susan L Curtis Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010324705
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Portland, ME, USA
Phone
2077741552
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Camps

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,048,336
Expenses
$1,144,239
Assets
$5,744,451
Liabilities
$17,773

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Scott Merrow (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Scott Merrow (Executive Director): $133,833 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of Camp Susan Curtis is to provide a transformative camp experience that nurtures self-confidence and a sense of belonging in Maine children facing economic hardship.

What it reported doing in 2024

Camp Susan Curtis offers Maine children facing economic hardship a caring, serene setting to build confidence and make meaningful connections while immersed in the outdoors. Campers are invited from every county in Maine and are referred directly by school and community referral partners. Our 10-day overnight camp curriculum is designed to foster curiosity in campers, giving them opportunities to try new activities and challenging them to explore the world around them in a supportive environment where they can make mistakes and recover. These foundational skills and life experiences are reinforced as many campers return year after year, preparing them for life after Camp Susan Curtis and pursuit of their personal, educational, and career aspirations.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 98% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 80
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 42.9%; rating input score 43
  • Program expense ratio: 74.4%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 44.1%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.02; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.7%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 42.9% of revenue deployed · 74.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $851K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $134K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 43/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.