The Small Things INC

Tax-deductible

Branford, CT501(c)(3)Since 2011InternationalEIN 45-2466306Revenue $406K in FY2025

On file with the IRSthesmallthings.org14d Stonegate, 06405-7313 · Branford, CTTax-exempt since Feb 2012Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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TST has a mission of working with the community and empowering our clients and bringing together small acts from around the world to create big change for orphaned and vulnerable children in Tanzania.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
86¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 28 volunteers and 1 employee.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $25K a year · 6% of revenue · last 6 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
86%
of spending
Looks good: 86% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$10K
to officers and key staff · 3% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 92% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 3% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.5 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
2
named funders · $27K
Fine: 2 funders name it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$144K
199% of total assets
Concern: liabilities are 199% of assets; over 80%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
9
of 9 voting members
Looks good: 9 of 9 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$406K
+6% vs prior year
Spent
$346K
To programs
86%
Net assets
−$71K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$406K
FY2025▲ +6%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$453K
FY2021$400K
FY2022$486K
FY2023$488K
FY2024$383K
FY2025$406K
Expenses
$346K
FY2025▲ +4%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$495K
FY2021$509K
FY2022$543K
FY2023$541K
FY2024$333K
FY2025$346K
Net assets
−$71K
FY2025▲ +46%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$37K
FY2021−$72K
FY2022−$129K
FY2023−$182K
FY2024−$131K
FY2025−$71K

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending July 2025) · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 2012.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

86 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 86% · $299K Management & general 12% · $41K Fundraising 2% · $6K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

10 people listed on the 990; $10K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Dir.
$10,250Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Rebecca Ross-Russell’s $10K as Executive Dir. is at the 8th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1636 $100K–1M international nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Rebecca Ross Russell———$50,002$49,043$40,000
Rebecca Ross-Russell$10,250$36,000$50,000———

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Provides support for orphans and children in Tanzania.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $299K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

The Small Things supported 1060 children and 583 adults during the fiscal year 2024-25. We cared for 42 children through full-time residential care at Happy Family Children's Village, provided intensive support at home for 59 families including those formerly in care, provided preschool and daycare for 57 children, and provided tutoring…

$299Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 2 funders$27K

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$406K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$406K
Other incomeLn 4–11$42
Money outPt IX
$346K
Ln 25
Programscol B$299K
Managementcol C$41K
Fundraisingcol D$6K
Owns and owesPt X
−$71K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$72K
Total assetsLn 16$72K
LiabilitiesLn 26$144K
PeoplePt VI, VII
10
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a9
IndependentVI 1b9
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$406K
Other incomeLn 4–11$42
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$406K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$72K
SavingsLn 2$531
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$72K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Other assetsLn 15$0
Total assetsLn 16$72K
LiabilitiesLn 26$144K
Net assetsLn 32−$71K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 51
VolunteersI 628
Fiscal year endsHeaderJuly
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$5K$72K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$0
Total assetsLn 16$5K$72K
LiabilitiesLn 26$137K$144K
Net assetsLn 32−$131K−$71K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$288K$288K
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$10K$5K$3K$3K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$0
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$0
Payroll taxesLn 10$784$392$196$196
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$25$25
Accounting feesLn 11c$12K$12K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$2K$2K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2K$101$2K
Office expensesLn 13$861$69$792
Information technologyLn 14$3K$2K$1K
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$0
TravelLn 17$5K$5K$438$438
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$0
InsuranceLn 23$5K$5K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$17K$2K$16K
All other expensesLn 24e$100$100
Total functional expensesLn 25$346K$299K$41K$6K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $406K$346K$60K−$71K 990 PDF
FY2024 $383K$333K$50K−$131K 990 PDF
FY2023 $488K$541K−$53K−$182K 990 PDF
FY2022 $486K$543K−$57K−$129K 990 PDF
FY2021 $400K$509K−$109K−$72K 990 PDF
FY2020 $453K$495K−$42K$37K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $406,274 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $383,229$406,232
I-9 Program service revenue$0
I-10 Investment income$0
I-11 Other revenue$42
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $383,229$406,274
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $245,500$287,600
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $38,755$11,034
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $48,490$47,655
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $332,745$346,289
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $50,484$59,985
Part VI · Governance 9 of 9 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body9
VI-1b Independent voting members9
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $406,274 across 9 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$406,232
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$406,232
VIII-3 Investment income$0
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $42$42
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $42$406,274
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $346,289 across 31 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $287,600$287,600
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $5,125 · Management $2,563 · Fundraising $2,562$10,250
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wages$0
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefits$0
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $392 · Management $196 · Fundraising $196$784
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal feesPrograms $25$25
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $12,025$12,025
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesManagement $1,641$1,641
IX-12 Advertising and promotionManagement $101 · Fundraising $1,630$1,731
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $69 · Management $792$861
IX-14 Information technologyManagement $1,571 · Fundraising $1,473$3,044
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$0
IX-17 TravelPrograms $4,574 · Management $438 · Fundraising $438$5,450
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortization$0
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $5,486$5,486
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $1,651 · Management $15,641$17,292
IX-24e All other expensesManagement $100$100
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $299,436 · Management $40,554 · Fundraising $6,299$346,289
Part X · Balance sheet $72,258 assets, 19 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $5,121$71,727
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $31$531
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$0
X-4 Accounts receivable$0
X-8 Inventories for sale or use$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$0
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, net$0
X-11 Publicly traded securities$0
X-12 Other securities$0
X-13 Program-related investments$0
X-14 Intangible assets$0
X-15 Other assets$0
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $5,152$72,258
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expenses$15,016
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $136,577$128,679
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $136,577$143,695
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year −$131,425−$71,437
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year −$131,425−$71,437
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $5,152$72,258
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$71,437 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$406,274
XI-2 Total expenses$346,289
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$59,985
XI-4 Net assets at start of year−$131,425
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$3
XI-10 Net assets at end of year−$71,437

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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