Youthroots

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
271325457
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2016
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
7204433462
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$537,934
Expenses
$675,781
Assets
$380,492
Liabilities
$50,955

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SHEILA VAN DE GRAAPH (EXECUTIVE DI): $134,269 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Youthroots empowers young people particularly those from underrepresented communities to become changemakers through hands-on experiences in philanthropy, civic engagement, and community leadership. We equip youth with the tools, confidence, and opportunities to identify community needs, raise and distribute funds, collect and analyze youth-led data, and advocate for equitable systems change. Our programs cultivate leadership, amplify youth voice, and foster a lifelong commitment to social impact

What it reported doing in 2024

Youthscan project: the youthscan project is a statewide initiative dedicated to amplifying youth voices in decision-making processes. It serves as a platform to elevate youth perspectives on community issues, support schools and communities in addressing local youth needs, identify emerging concerns in real time, and highlight demographic and locational differences in issue experiences. Open to all organizations, schools, classrooms, and communities, the project emphasizes the importance of centering youth voices on youth issues for inclusive and impactful outcomes.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 64% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.7%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 76.9%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 44; 44th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -25.6%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.56; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.9%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.7% of revenue deployed · 76.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $520K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $134K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.