Raising A Reader
Raising A Reader
Milpitas CA | IRS ruling year: 2014 | EIN: 94-3390149
Organization Mission
Raising A Reader is a national program proven to build literacy through family engagement.
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Milpitas CA | IRS ruling year: 2014 | EIN: 94-3390149
Organization Mission
Raising A Reader is a national program proven to build literacy through family engagement.
Great
This charity's score is 99%, earning it a Four-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores, weighted as follows: 33% Accountability & Finance, 50% Impact & Results, 8% 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.
Charity Navigator's ratings previously did not consider Leadership & Adaptability, Culture & Community, or Impact & Results. The historic rating mainly reflects a version of today’s Accountability and Finance score. More information on our previous rating methodologies can be found on our rating methodology page.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
Score
Most Recent Fiscal Year:
FY 2021
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
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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 that a majority of board members are identified 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 independent 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.
Presented here are up to five of this organization's highest compensated employees. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses, and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Michelle Torgerson, President And Ceo
$254,657
Michelle Hyman, Svp, Programs And Partnerships
$155,521
Rebecca Armstrong, Avp, Program And Affiliate Relations
$138,628
Jennifer Ford, Vp, Finance And Operations
$131,153
Allan Casalou, Treasurer
Compensation not entered
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2021
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:
509(a)(3) Type I (BMF foundation code: 21)
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 (Raising A Reader) or EIN (943390149) in the 'Search Term' field.
Score
This beacon estimates the actual impact a charity has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.
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Program
Raising a Reader
Activities
The nonprofit provides books and reading support to toddlers and preschoolers.
Program Type
Shared Book Reading
Beneficiaries Served
(No data collected)
Program Geography
Northeast, South, Mid-West, West
Time Period of Data
1/1/22 to 12/31/22
Outcomes: Changes in the lives of those served by a nonprofit. They can be caused by the nonprofit.
Costs: The money spent by a nonprofit and its partners and beneficiaries.
Impact: Outcome caused by a nonprofit relative to its cost.
Cost-effectiveness: A judgment as to whether the cost was a good use of resources to cause the outcome.
Outcome Metric
Years a child is regularly read to by a cargiver or parent
Outcome Data Source
Ratings are based on data the nonprofit itself collects on its work. We use the most recent year with sufficient data. Typically, this data allows us to calculate direct changes in participants' lives, such as increased income.
The nonprofit submitted data on how how many children it supported and the percent who were read to five or more days a week at the end of the program.
Method for Attributing Outcomes
We don't know if the observed changes were caused by the nonprofit's program or something else happening at the same time (e.g., a participant got a raise). To determine causation, we take the outcomes we observe and subtract an estimate of the outcomes that would have happened even without the program (i.e., counterfactual outcomes).
We estimate the amount of years a child was regularly read to as a results of the the nonprofit's work by comparing its reported figures to the amount the child would have been read to without the nonprofit's help (the “counterfactual”). Without the nonprofit, some caregivers would still regularly read to their child. These counterfactual successes must be netted out of the successes we observe. Otherwise, we would be attributing a change (benefits received) to the nonprofit when it would have happened anyway. Few nonprofits estimate the counterfactual themselves, so we construct our own counterfactual estimate based on research and educated assumptions.
Cost Data Source
After estimating the program's outcomes, we need to determine how much it cost to achieve those outcomes. All monetary costs are counted, whether they are borne by a nonprofit service deliverer or by the nonprofit’s public and private partners.
Program cost data reported by the nonprofit. Partner and beneficiary costs reported by the nonprofit or estimated by Charity Navigator.
Cost Calculation
$3,664,606 program costs + $0 partner costs + $15,740 beneficiary costs = $3,680,346 total costs
We calculate impact, defined as the change in outcomes attributable to a program divided by the cost to achieve those outcomes.
Impact Calculation
$3,680,346 total costs / 131,895 years of shared reading = roughly $30 provides a child a year of shared reading with a parent or caregiver. [2021 USD]
Benchmark for Rating
Impact & Results scores of a shared book programs are based on the return of benefits secured per dollar spent. Programs receive an Impact & Results score of 100 if every dollar spent results in an improvement in shared book reading with a parent or cargiver at a cost well below the benchmark. Programs receive an Impact & Results score of 80 if every dollar spent results in an improvement in shared book reading with a parent or cargiver at a cost in line with the benchmark. Programs receive a 65 if they are found to have no improvement in shared book reading or the cost is well above the benchmark.
Determination
Highly cost-effective
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.
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
What challenges does your organization face in collecting feedback from the people you serve?
The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, Other means
70% of beacon score
This organization's score of 100 is a passing score. The organization reported that it is implementing 14 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 (7/7) | |
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
Raising A Reader is a national program proven to build literacy through family engagement.
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
Thanks to the success of our Classic Red Book Bag Rotation model and the launch of new programs, Sup
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Launch Raising A Reader's new pilot program enlisting pediatricians in reinforcing literacy routines through well-child visits by September 2022.
Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.
Goal Two: In 2019, Raising A Reader approved a three-year 2020-22 strategic plan that included a 15% growth goal to serve 200,000 children, families and caregivers by 2022. In 2021, we reaching 150,000.
Goal Type: Grow, expand, scale or increase access to the existing programs and services.
Goal Three: Implement our Race Equity Agenda to address the impact of racial injustice and inequities on the children and families we serve by ensuring and implementing best practices and policies.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
Describe an investment in leadership
Raising A Reader is committed to recruiting, hiring and supporting a diverse staff that includes supporting a leadership team of six that is 50% people of color. We host biannual in-person leadership retreats that include all six members of our national team in addition to supporting staff at all levels in attending and presenting at national conferences.
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Thought Leadership
Raising Awareness
Community Building
What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?
Raising A Reader supports 285 Affiliates who administer our programming at nearly 3,000 implementation sites across 36 states, providing books, curriculum, training and ongoing support. We also collaborate with national partners like the Campaign for Grade Level Reading (CGLR), a collaboration of foundations, nonprofits, states, and communities focused on the No.1 predictor of school success: third grade reading. RAR President and CEO, Michelle Torgerson, was a featured panelist at an invite only CGLR launch session, “Assume Collaboration: A Consultative Conversation on Aggregating for Impact.” Torgerson is also partnering with leaders in the field to promote “Radical Collaboration” in the quest for early literacy for all. Guests have included President and CEO of Council for a Strong America, Brian Ford, Superbowl Champion and Literacy Advocate, Malcom Mitchell, and President and CEO of Strive Together, Jennifer Blatz who recently joined the Raising A Reader board of directors.
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
Raising A Reader's programming was greatly impacted by the pandemic which included school closures. Our Classic Red Book Bag rotation model includes weekly rotation of books throughout the school year and our trainings were mostly in-person prior to the pandemic. We adapted by providing training and ongoing support to our Affiliates virtually and launching two new programs suited to social distancing. These models, Super Summer Learning Adventures and Family Shared Reading Program, were based on our Classic Red Book Bag Rotation model but instead of rotating books weekly, these new models helped families build at home libraries. Children were allowed to keep the books, materials and bilingual curriculum which included weekly activities in English and Spanish. We plan to continue providing all three program models and virtual training opportunities.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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