Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Oct 2016.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
86 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
16 people listed on the 990; $944K paid to officers and key staff.
Bruce Lesley’s $237K as President and Director is at the 95th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3869 $1–10M human services 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Lesley | $237,387 | $237,470 | $245,731 | $242,050 | $235,000 |
| Messellech Looby | $145,288 | $145,581 | $154,500 | $154,500 | $150,000 |
| Elaine Lesstrang | — | $136,896 | $139,000 | $139,000 | — |
| Michelle Dallafior | $130,214 | $130,261 | $131,898 | $131,900 | $128,000 |
| Michele Kayal | $108,486 | $108,779 | $117,500 | $117,500 | — |
| Carrie Fitzgerald | — | — | — | $113,300 | $110,000 |
| Timothy Joseph Smith | $108,348 | $108,292 | $111,200 | $111,200 | $108,000 |
| Leila Nimatallah | $107,465 | $108,132 | — | — | — |
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
Advocates for children and families in federal policy and budget decisions.
Questions for First Focus on Children
Your first name shows with your question. First Focus on Children answers here, for everyone.
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Advocacy
First Focus is dedicated to making children and families the priority in federal policy and budget decisions.
Health
First Focus works to enhancing critical childrens health programs like the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Medicaid
Poverty/Housing
First Focus advocates for federal investments like the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit which lift millions of children and families out of poverty every year.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2024 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY24 | End FY24 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.8M | $2.1M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $71K | $64K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $4.1M | $6.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $2.0M | $1.8M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $2.1M | $4.9M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $383K | $333K | $36K | $14K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $1.4M | $1.2M | $132K | $49K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $48K | $41K | $5K | $2K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $253K | $222K | $22K | $9K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $66K | $58K | $6K | $2K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $2K | $2K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $67K | $48K | $17K | $2K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $212K | $188K | $20K | $4K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $268K | $232K | $26K | $10K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $290K | $252K | $28K | $10K |
| TravelLn 17 | $43K | $37K | $4K | $2K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $10K | $9K | $1K | $383 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $16K | $16K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $16K | $13K | $2K | $558 |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $92K | $73K | $16K | $3K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $3.2M | $2.7M | $333K | $107K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 Latest Viewing | $5.9M | $3.2M | $2.8M | $4.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $2.9M | $3.6M | −$626K | $2.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $1.9M | $3.1M | −$1.2M | $2.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $3.6M | $2.9M | $788K | $4.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $3.0M | $2.4M | $600K | $3.2M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2024 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $5,941,772 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 9 of 11 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $5,941,772 across 5 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,156,470 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $6,701,443 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $4,923,081 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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