HOPE
Helping Other People be Empowered
HOPE
EIN: 27-1370074
Mission
Empower, encourage, and equip low-income single parents to obtain a college degree, develop essential life skills, and ultimately become self-sufficient. We do this by providing our single parent students with: 1. Financial assistance for housing and childcare 2. A facilitator to connect our students to community resources 3. Financial literacy and a game plan for financial independence 4. Counseling resources and success coaching
Ruling year
2010
President & Founder
Mrs. Kenita Smith
Main address
PO Box 3166
Duluth, GA 30096 USA
EIN
27-1370074
Education
Adult education
Public affairs
Human services
Single parent support
Population served
Children and youth
Single parents
Economically disadvantaged people
Low-income people
Students
NTEE code
Single Organization Support (B11)
Single Parent Agencies/Services (P42)
Single Organization Support (W11)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Tax forms
Communication
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download annual reports Download other documentsWhat we aim to solve
In the context of the conversation regarding upward mobility, a great and notable economist Mahbub ul Haq stated that the purpose of development is not just to enlarge incomes but to enlarge people's choices and that these choices extend to a decent education, good health, personal security, community participation, and many other areas of human well-being. Today's typical college undergraduate student is no longer an 18-year-old recent high-school graduate who enrolls full-time and has limited work and family obligations. In fact, more than one in eight students are single parents, and more than a third are over the age of 25. According to a Women Employed publication, "Single Mothers and College Success: Creating Paths Out of Poverty," single parents face especially daunting challenges in their efforts to obtain a degree. Compared to married parents, single parents are more likely to have low-incomes and have greater challenges in paying tuition and arranging child care.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
MDGH
The Mildred Dowdley Gift of HOPE (MDGH) provides financial assistance, life skills training, and spiritual support for lowincome single parents from Georgia who are enrolled in college in the Atlanta Metropolitan area.
BTC
HOPE’s Break the Cycle Program(BTC) is a two-five year program designed to help single parents ultimately achieve self-sufficiency and break the cycle of poverty with education, training, and a middle class income. Through an education/workforce partnership, BTC will provide life skills training, adult mentorships, financial support, educational guidance, andemployment placement for single parents living in poverty with their children, who are working to get academic and professional degrees.
Hand -in-Hand
Hand in Hand is a program created via our partnership with Rainbow Village to provide support through our MDGH program for transitioning homeless single parent's interested in obtaining a college degree.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of students showing improvement in test scores
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We have assisted 85 single parents and 182 Children.
Average number of service recipients per month
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of households served with eviction notice or forced displacement
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Number of program participants who receive a secondary school diploma or GED
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of people no longer living in unsafe or substandard housing as a result of the nonprofit's efforts
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Homeless people
Related Program
Hand -in-Hand
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of service recipients who are employed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of first-entry undergraduate program students who identify themselves as 'visible minorities'or 'non-white'
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of households that obtain/retain permanent housing for at least 6 months
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of program participants who obtain a job within 3 months of program completion
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of students enrolled
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of first-time, full-time, first-year registrants in direct entry programs who graduate within 6 years
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of families assisted with rent or mortgage to avoid eviction
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of children served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of scholars who graduate from four year colleges and university within six years
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of participants attending course/session/workshop
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
MDGH
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The overarching goal of the H-LISP program is to increase the number of single parent students
who obtain their college degrees, by assisting 10 single parents per year, and preparing them for a self-sufficient life. The program objectives are as follows:
1. HOPE participants obtain a college degree in a timely manner while encountering limited financial barriers;
2. HOPE participants sustain financial stability for 5 years after graduating; and
3. Manage emotional stress throughout the program and up to 5 years after graduating
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our strategies are detailed in our three-year strategic plan. We will focus on three key areas: capacity building, sustainability, and program development.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our current board members, staff, and volunteers have the education and experience needed to carry out the task detailed in our plan.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have increased our program capacity already by 30%, initiated a reserves plan and fund as desired in our action plan, and working as scheduled to complete 2019 goals.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
-
Who are the people you serve with your mission?
Although it is not a practice to focus on race or gender, given the current emphasis on serving African Americans and people of color, we have found that the overwhelming majority (99%) of our program constituents are female, African-American, between the ages of 18-49. They have household incomes under $30,000 (25% - $10,001-$20,000 and 75% - $20,001-$30,000); and, reside in Gwinnett County (30%), Fulton County (20%), Cobb (18%), DeKalb (14%), Clayton (11%), and other metro-Atlanta counties (7%).
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
-
What significant change resulted from feedback?
We added more emergency assistance funds for utilities, car insurance, etc and we changed our webinar software. We also added training they were interested in receiving as well.
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2021 info
1.92
Months of cash in 2021 info
7.8
Fringe rate in 2021 info
32%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
HOPE
Revenue & expensesFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
HOPE
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jan 01 - Dec 31
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
This snapshot of HOPE’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
Created in partnership with
Business model indicators
| Profitability info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $4,952 | $19,482 | -$23,882 | -$4,688 | $46,678 |
| As % of expenses | 4.6% | 15.1% | -11.1% | -1.7% | 12.4% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $4,952 | $19,482 | -$23,882 | -$4,688 | $46,678 |
| As % of expenses | 4.6% | 15.1% | -11.1% | -1.7% | 12.4% |
| Revenue composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $113,116 | $149,088 | $190,002 | $263,703 | $478,403 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | 36.8% | 31.8% | 27.4% | 38.8% | 81.4% |
| Program services revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Membership dues | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Government grants | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10.3% |
| All other grants and contributions | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 100.0% | 73.9% |
| Other revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 15.8% |
| Expense composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $108,145 | $129,185 | $214,423 | $268,391 | $375,115 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | 4.7% | 19.5% | 66.0% | 25.2% | 39.8% |
| Personnel | 34.3% | 38.9% | 33.4% | 36.1% | 23.7% |
| Professional fees | 17.3% | 4.9% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.3% |
| Occupancy | 0.9% | 3.5% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Interest | 0.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pass-through | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| All other expenses | 46.7% | 52.7% | 64.7% | 62.2% | 74.9% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $108,145 | $129,185 | $214,423 | $268,391 | $375,115 |
| One month of savings | $9,012 | $10,765 | $17,869 | $22,366 | $31,260 |
| Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $1,908 |
| Fixed asset additions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $117,157 | $139,950 | $232,292 | $290,757 | $408,283 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 3.3 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 4.9 | 7.8 |
| Months of cash and investments | 3.3 | 4.1 | 1.5 | 4.9 | 7.8 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 2.4 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.9 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $29,374 | $44,184 | $25,954 | $108,785 | $245,110 |
| Investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Receivables | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 26.7% | 6.7% | 35.6% | 90.9% | 51.9% |
| Unrestricted net assets | $21,770 | $41,252 | $17,370 | $12,682 | $59,360 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $58,505 |
| Total net assets | $21,770 | $41,252 | $17,370 | $12,682 | $117,865 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
President & Founder
Mrs. Kenita Smith
Kenita started this organization based on her own personal life story attending college as a single parent. She has over 18 years management experience and started this organization from the ground up raising over $1.5 million since 2011. She has a MBA, MA in Christian Studies, and a BBA. She is a strong advocate for education and believes in promoting upward mobility.
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
HOPE
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
HOPE
Board of directorsas of 02/24/2023
Board of directors data
Steve Dowdley
Kenita N Smith
H.O.P.E, Inc. (Helping Other People be Empowered)
Steven Dowdley
Haylard Health
Wassia Kamon
AM Chemistries
Lisa White
InTouch Properties, LLC
Diane Baker
Crum & Forster Insurance
Shannon Brooks
Shannon Brooks Consulting
Leilani Johnson
Heritage Werks
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/10/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- 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 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.
- 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 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.
Professional fundraisers
Fiscal year endingSOURCE: IRS Form 990 Schedule G
Solicitation activities
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- Financial statements for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2016
- Letter of Determination
- Form 1023 / 1024
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017
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