First Candle INC FY2019 filing

Tax-deductible

New Canaan, CT501(c)(3)Health CareEIN 52-1591162

First Candle is committed to ending Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related infant deaths while providing bereavement support to families who have experienced a loss.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
70¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$210K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2019 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
Is it a real charity?
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Are gifts tax-deductible?
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Is it filing on time?
FY2024
latest Form 990
IRS e-file · Filing history
Is it financially stable?
3 of 5
years in the black
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
How much reaches the programs?
70%
of spending
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
What are leaders paid?
$210K
to officers and key staff · 48% of spending
Pt VII · Sec A
Do they have reserves?
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Who is supporting them already?
1
named funder · $20K
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Do they carry debt?
$70K
liabilities
Pt X · Ln 26
Who oversees it?
11
independent of 11 voting board members
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Revenue
$438K
Spent
$435K
To programs
70%
Net assets
$22K
By yearFY2019–FY2024
Revenue
$438K
FY2019
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2019$438K
FY2021$602K
FY2022$504K
FY2023$898K
FY2024$853K
Expenses
$435K
FY2019
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2019$435K
FY2021$567K
FY2022$780K
FY2023$955K
FY2024$778K
Net assets
$22K
FY2019
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2019$22K
FY2021$49K
FY2022−$227K
FY2023−$284K
FY2024−$70K

From the FY2019 Form 990 · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2019 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Status and standing

Is it real, and can you give to it?

Tax-deductible?
Yes
Per the IRS master file.
Can I give now?
Yes — exemption reinstated (2023-05-15)
Per the IRS revocation list.
Filing up to date?
Filed FY2024 (typical filing lag)
Legal name (IRS)Hdr · item CFirst Candle INC
EINHdr · item D52-1591162
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
Ruling yearIRS BMFJun 2024
Latest filingForm 990FY2024 · Form 990
Principal addressHdr · item CNew Canaan, CT
NTEE classificationIRS BMFHealth Care (E86)
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.firstcandle.org

Where the money goes

What each dollar paid for.

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.70 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.20
Program services70%$303K
Management & general10%$45K
Fundraising20%$86K
Total functional expensesLn 25$435K

Financial health

Is it on solid ground?

Program efficiency
70%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
2.4mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+0.6%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2019 · Form 990
Total assets
$92K
FY2019
Total assets by fiscal year
FY2019$92K
FY2021$230K
FY2022$62K
FY2023$88K
FY2024$222K
Total liabilities
$70K
FY2019
Total liabilities by fiscal year
FY2019$70K
FY2021$181K
FY2022$289K
FY2023$372K
FY2024$292K
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$3K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$92K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B70%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 311
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 411

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$86K
Total assetsLn 16$92K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$70K
Total net assetsLn 32$22K
Months of cash on handcomputed2.4

Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$266K · 61%
Other revenue$171K · 39%
Contributions & grants61%$266K
Other revenue39%$171K
Total revenueLn 12$438K

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2019 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $86K · Operating expenses/yr $435K
2.4 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $303K · Total expenses $435K
70%
Management & General
Management & general $45K · Total expenses $435K
10%
Fundraising
Fundraising $86K · Total expenses $435K
20%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense $86K · Solicited contributions $266K
$0.32 to raise $1
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $266K · Total revenue $438K
61%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $438K
—
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $0 · Total revenue $438K
0%
Investment reliance
Investment income $0 · Total revenue $438K
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $0 · Total expenses $435K
0%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $438K · Prior year —
No prior year on file
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $22K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $438K · Expenses $435K
+0.6%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $92K
—
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $22K · Total assets $92K
24%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $0 · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $92K
0%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Alison Jacobson · Reported title CEO · Highest reported compensation $78K · Total expenses $435K
18%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $250K · Total expenses $435K
57%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 70%——
Overhead ratio 10%——
Fundraising cost ratio 32%——
Investment management fee ratio 0%——
Legal fee ratio 0%——
Accounting fee ratio 17%——
Fundraising fee ratio 0%——

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Leadership and pay

Who runs it, and what are they paid?

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$78,000Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Education
$74,900Pt VII · Sec A
$57,000Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Alison Jacobson’s $99K as CEO is at the 80th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1979 $100K–1M health care 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2019
Alison Jacobson—$99,420$94,936$80,513$78,000
Alison Jacobson$99,345————
Barbara Himes————$74,900
Stephanie Goodman————$57,000

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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Governance & Policies

Part VI
  • 11Voting board membersPt VI · Ln 1a
  • 11Independent board membersPt VI · Ln 1b
  • Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
  • Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
  • Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
  • Top official’s pay independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
  • Family or business ties among leadersPt VI · Ln 2No

Mission and programs

What it does.

Helps prevent infant sleep deaths and supports grieving families.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until First Candle INC claims this page.

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Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $303K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2019.
01

Education and Family Support

First Candle supplies comprehensive quality-assured information on infant health and survival to new and expectant parents and the general public through a toll-free information hotline and website.

$303Kprogram expense

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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 · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$20K

Filing history

Every return on file.

YearRevenueExpensesChangeFiling
FY2024 Latest $853K$778K-5% 990 PDF
FY2023 $898K$955K+78% 990 PDF
FY2022 $504K$780K-16% 990 PDF
FY2021 $602K$567K+38% 990 PDF
FY2020 Not on file
FY2019 Viewing $438K$435K 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

Not shown yet: ratings, outcomes, and peer benchmarks. A Form 990 doesn’t report them.

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2019IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
Names, privacy, and removal requests More

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