Identity Inc.
Identity Inc.
Rockville MD | IRS ruling year: 1999 | EIN: 52-2120012
Organization Mission
IDENTITY CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR LATINO & OTHER HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED YOUTH AND FAMILIES TO REALIZE THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL AND THRIVE.
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Rockville MD | IRS ruling year: 1999 | EIN: 52-2120012
Organization Mission
IDENTITY CREATES OPPORTUNITIES FOR LATINO & OTHER HISTORICALLY UNDERSERVED YOUTH AND FAMILIES TO REALIZE THEIR HIGHEST POTENTIAL AND THRIVE.
Great
This charity's score is 97%, earning it a Four-Star rating.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores, weighted as follows: 80% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 10% Culture & Community. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.
We recognize that not all metrics and beacons equally predict a charity’s success. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organization’s overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned.
Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
On March 16, 2023, The Washington Post reported on improper conduct alleged to have taken place at Identity Inc in an article titled, "Counselor at high school ‘wellness center’ charged in sex abuse case." For more information regarding this matter, please see The Washington Post article.
For more information about our alerts methodology, see here.
Score
Most Recent Fiscal Year:
FY 2022
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
Learn more
Industry professionals strongly recommend an independent governing body to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. We check to see if at least 50% of board members are indentified as independent on their tax form.
Source: IRS Form 990
Industry professionals strongly recommend an independent governing body to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters. For most organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least three board members. For large, donor-funded organizations, we check to see if the organization has at least five independent board members
Source: IRS Form 990
An Audit, Review, or Compilation provides important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Organizations are scored based on their Total Revenue Amount:
Total Revenue Amount | Expectation to Receive Credit |
$2 million or higher and 40% or higher donor support | Expected to complete an audit and have an audit oversight committee |
$1 million or higher | Expected to complete an audit |
$500,000 - $1 million | Expected to complete an audit, review, or compilation |
Less than $500,000 | No expectation (removed from scoring methodology) |
Source: IRS Form 990
A diversion of assets — any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft — also can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We review the charity's most recent IRS Form 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for a website on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.
Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the IRS Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.
Source: IRS Form 990
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the IRS Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.
An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Source: IRS Form 990
For almost all charities, we check the charity's IRS Form 990 to see if it discloses that the Form 990 is available on the charity's website. As with the audited financial statement, donors need easy access to this financial report to help determine if the organization is managing its financial resources well.
Source: IRS Form 990
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent IRS Form 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization's solvency and/or long-term sustainability.
Source: IRS Form 990
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three IRS Forms 990). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.
Source: IRS Form 990
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
No Data Available
Salary data is coming soon.
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Foundation Status:
Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Identity Inc.) or EIN (522120012) in the 'Search Term' field.
Not Currently Scored
Identity Inc. cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
Score
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves.
Learn more
30% of beacon score
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. The methodology leveraged for Constituent Feedback is based on The Core Principles of Constituent Feedback, which describes listening and responding well to feedback. Charity Navigator participates in a consortium with other feedback experts and leading nonprofit infrastructure platforms to drive Constituent Feedback's advancement, promotion, and data collection.
Who are the people you serve with your mission? Describe briefly.
We work with Latino, low-income, and other historically underserved youth and families living in high-poverty areas of Montgomery County, MD. Latinos are the fastest growing demographic in the county’s public schools, exceeding 34% of the total student population. Many of the county’s Latino youth and their families face significant challenges related to unaddressed toxic stress and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) related to immigration, acculturation, family separation, language barriers, housing insecurity, and economic instability.
How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
SMS text surveys, Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Paper surveys, Case management notes, Community meetings or town halls, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
With whom does your organization share the feedback you got from the people you serve?
The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners, Other means
What challenges does your organization face in collecting feedback from the people you serve?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Briefly describe a recent change that your organization made in response to feedback from the people you serve.
IMMIGRANT-SPECIFIC ACES: In fiscal year 2020, Identity helped advance the science and body of knowledge of unique Adverse Childhood Experiences suffered during the immigrant journey. By collecting and evaluating data on these experiences with the University of Maryland’s School of Public Health, we are increasing awareness and piloting and testing new ways to address these traumas.
70% of beacon score
This organization's score of 97 is a passing score. The organization reported that it is implementing 13 Equity Practices.
This assessment demonstrates the importance of implementing practices that contribute positively to an organization's overall culture, both internally and with respect to community engagement. Furthermore, equity centered frameworks and similar approaches have drawn much attention from donors, experts, and sector leaders who underscore its value to the nonprofit's overall health and capacity for mission success. Currently, the Equity Strategies Checklist assessment consists of practices and policies that promote racial equity in their operations and programs (per the Equity Strategies checklist administered by Candid). As we refine our DEI assessment, Charity Navigator partners with DEI consultants and field experts to broaden and deepen this work.
Equity Practices (7/7) | |
We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race. | |
We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and/or portfolios. | |
We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization/'s programs, portfolios, and the populations served. | |
We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support. | |
We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders. | |
We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured | |
We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization. |
Equity Policies and Procedures (6/7) | |
We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity. | |
We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions. | |
We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization. | |
We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board. | |
We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability. | |
We measure and then disaggregate job satisfaction and retention data by race, function, level, and/or team. | |
We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization. |
Score
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Learn more
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
Note: The organization did not respond to this question.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
Our Vision: A just and equitable society that nurtures all youth and is enriched by their contributi
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Become a model trauma-informed organization
Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).
Goal Two: Increase strategies to help eliminate chronic gaps in academic achievement
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Describe an investment in leadership
We continuously identify and implement new professional development and training opportunities for leadership. For instance, in December 2021, Identity’s Board and leadership team attended a virtual workshop on Asset-Framing for Equity, and in April 2022, Program Director Nora Morales participated in Inspire Leadership School’s Public Narrative course, which trains leaders to create compelling narratives that motivate others to take action for the benefit of their communities. From July 2022, we will begin delivering monthly trainings for managers covering best practices for getting the most positive results from their teams (motivational strategies, having difficult conversations etc.) Identity has also invested heavily in training all leadership, staff, and board members in Trauma-Informed Care, including trainings on hiring, managing and supervising through a trauma-informed lens. We continuously train leadership on newly updated curricula, facilitation guides and evaluation tools.
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
Policy Advocacy
What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?
We engage in partnerships with local government (e.g. Montgomery County DHHS & Public Schools), education (e.g. University of Maryland; Montgomery College, Universities at Shady Grove) and nonprofits (e.g. 480 Club, Pride Youth Services, EveryMind). In 2019 we partnered with NAACP Parents’ Council to form the Black & Brown Coalition for Educational Equity & Excellence. We have worked with UMD School of Public Health for 4 years and in 2022 established Enlace, a joint project linking research and community to advance wellbeing of Latino youth/families. We recently presented 3 webinars about immigration-specific traumas and our nonclinical emotional support groups. Early in 2020 we joined a collective impact effort (Salud y Bienestar) harnessing county health funding for Latinos impacted by the pandemic. Our Executive Director was co-chair of Montgomery Moving Forward, a local coalition addressing community challenges, which is honoring him in June as a Hero of Collective Impact.
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
Through 2021, the needs of our client community persisted or worsened as the pandemic shifted from a short-term crisis to one requiring a longer-term approach. We saw unprecedented numbers of people left devastatingly vulnerable due to the health, mental health, education, and employment impacts of the pandemic. And many Identity youth, who already faced numerous challenges, struggled to succeed with remote schooling. Over the past year, Identity sustained an unprecedented response, adapting and expanding programming to keep young people engaged in their education, older youth developing their work skills and parents equipped to help them, and delivering expanded lifesaving safety-net support and non-clinical emotional support to vulnerable families. In response to the dramatic rise in emotional distress we observed in our community early in the pandemic, we accelerated the expansion of our non-clinical emotional support groups for adults. We are currently piloting an expansion for high school-age youth to address the ongoing youth mental health crisis. The new programs were created in partnership with the community who are involved in their planning and delivery. While the challenges of the past two years have tested the resilience of our organization and our community, they have also presented many opportunities to learn and adapt our approach to meet our community’s needs. The lingering effects of the pandemic required us to continue remote/hybrid work for many positions, which necessitated greater investment in IT equipment, software, and administrative support to prevent disruptions in service. However, we have also found that providing services online can be extremely beneficial to many of our clients by reducing common barriers to participation (e.g., childcare, transportation). We have therefore made permanent adjustments to many of our programs to allow greater flexibility for clients who prefer to receive remote services even after the pandemic is over.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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