Valley Settlement

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812401368
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Glenwood Springs, CO, USA
Phone
9709630851
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,407,134
Expenses
$4,050,928
Assets
$7,376,256
Liabilities
$446,213

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAULA LOSADA NICKELL (PRESIDENT)
  • ANA SOLER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MARIA TARAJANO RODMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIA TARAJANO RODMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $249,013 total reported compensation
  • TRACY BETHELL (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & OPER): $170,451 total reported compensation
  • KENIA PINELA MARIONI (DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS & INN): $157,087 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Valley settlement's mission is to work with families in early childhood and adult education so children and families can thrive. Valley settlement offers six two-generation programs to increase access to early childhood and adult education, address maternal mental health, build leadership skills, and connect individuals and families with critical resources to address education, health, social determinants of health, and economic needs, along with additional supporting programs

What it reported doing in 2024

Valley settlement's family, friends, and neighbors program provides informal, in-home childcare caregivers with the skills and tools they need to ensure children are cared for in a safe, healthy environment. Through a two-year in-home coaching and training program, participating caregivers receive individual, in-home coaching on early childhood development, creating emergency plans, addressing environmental safety concerns, and more. Participating providers also receive periodic group training, including certification in first aid, cpr, and more. Program staff serve as a bridge, connecting children to early intervention services and access to in-home preschool.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 71% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.6%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 76.8%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 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: 8.1%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.82; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.3%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.6% of revenue deployed · 76.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 10 filed program accomplishments · $3.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $249K · 15 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 46/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 58/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.