First Steps Kent

“The treasurer reviews the form 990 in detail. He then presents it to the executive committee for its in-depth review. It is then reviewed by the commission (board) before it is filed with the irs.”

“Board members and staff immediately disclose any potential conflicts of interest that arise. First steps has a form, accompanied by a copy of the policy, which is signed by each director/trustee/staff to acknowledge that the person has a) received a copy of the conflicts of interest policy, b) read and understands the policy, c) agreed to comply with the policy, and, d) understands that the organization is charitable and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption it must engage primarily in activities which accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt purposes. Employees and commission members are covered under the conflict of interest policy. The executive director and commission co-chair are identified in the policy by name with contact information in case someone wants to discuss a potential conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest are reviewed by the executive director, who may consult the employee's manager (or another manager). In the process restrictions are imposed on persons with a conflict. For example, an employee who is related to a vendor cannot request a bid, make the decision to go with the vendor, or be involved in any way with payment to the vendor. Commission members must abstain from voting on any item with which they have a conflict of interest.”

“The executive committee of the board of directors (commission) determines the compensation of the president/executive director. None of the members of the executive committee are employees of first steps kent. Comparable data from other similarly sized and situated local or regional nonprofits is gathered and analyzed. This information, along with the results of the annual performance evaluation is used to determine the president/executive director's compensation. The co-chair of the commission prepares an evaluation document that is shared with each commission member for feedback. She summarizes and reports back to the executive committee on the feedback, including her own, and discusses salary adjustment, bonus and/or enhanced pto in executive session. The executive committee comes to agreement and the co-chair informs the executive director of the decision and gives a feedback report. The co-chair informs the full commission at its next regular meeting in executive session. There are no other officers or key employees in our organization. The formal compensation review process was last performed during fiscal year 2017.”

“Our audit and form 990 are on our website at http://firststepskent.org/news-information/financial-documents. Our governing documents and conflict of interest policy are available upon request.”

“To create a coordinated, integrated system of early childhood services that supports all families in kent county so every young child in kent county will enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school and in life. The organization's most significant activity was obtaining grants and donations to implement, increase, strengthen, and coordinate early childhood services in kent county, michigan.”

“The great start collaborative is comprised of interdisciplinary stakeholders who represent service providers, business, funders, government, elected officials and parents. They work to define systems needs and gaps and convene stakeholders to research best practice and recommend systems alignments and changes. Great start collaborative in conjunction with first steps, assesses the needs of young children and families in their communities, identifies community assets for addressing those needs, and plans for systemic change. They implement efforts to address the gaps, strengthen what works, and knock down barriers that impede young children from arriving at kindergarten healthy and ready to succeed in school and in life. Our collaborative is part of a network of 54 great start collaboratives working in every county in michigan, funded by the office of great start and michigan department of education. Technical assistance is provided by the early childhood investment corporation.”

“Early learning communities is a collaborative, community-based initiative to enrich the quality early learning experiences of young children by strengthening the skills of early childhood caregivers and educators. First steps and the grand rapids public schools have worked together with other community partners to demonstrate the effectiveness of this model. The early learning communities are focused on the neighborhoods around martin luther king, jr. Leadership academy, harrison park, burton coit, congress and mulick park schools. Caregivers and parents have the opportunity to attend play & learn groups in which children participate in literacy-based activities and providers watch coaches model best-practice instruction. The curriculum for the play & learn groups is aligned with michigan department of education expectations for kindergarten readiness. Early learning communities has also developed a variety of strategies to teach caregivers how to access community resources and strengthen the transition to kindergarten for participating preschool-aged children. Elc had between 300-400 children and 200-300 adults participating in program services per month. As of the summer of 2017 first steps kent no longer directly operates this program but contracts with grand rapids community college to operate this program. First steps kent continues to provide funding for the early learning communities program.”

“First steps kent seeks to increase the community's awareness by voicing how research-based investments in high quality, early childhood services positively impact later school success and ultimately contributes to a higher-skilled, local workforce. This campaign seeks to reach two main audiences: a) the greater kent county "public" including parents, grandparents, advocates, family members and professionals involved with early childhood, and b) community leaders who have influence to create meaningful change.”

“Other fees: program service expenses 288,124. Management and general expenses 34,295. Fundraising expenses 25,701. Total expenses 348,120.”

“There has been no change in audit oversight or selection process during the tax year”