Cookson Hills Christian School, Inc.
Providing home, school, and therapy for kids who are at-risk
Cookson Hills Christian School, Inc.
EIN: 73-0665495
Mission
Cookson Hills provides home, school, and therapy for kids who are at-risk.
Ruling year
1958
Executive Director
Mr. Ron Riley
Main address
60416 Highway 10
Kansas, OK 74347 USA
EIN
73-0665495
Elementary and secondary education
Mental health counseling
Christianity
Youth services
Group homes
Population served
Children and youth
Families
Foster and adoptive parents
Grandparents
Single parents
NTEE code
Family Services (P40)
Youth Development Programs (O50)
Elementary, Secondary Ed (B20)
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 reportsWhat we aim to solve
Cookson Hills seeks to provide a stable home, quality education, and mental health services to kids ages 5-17 who have faced challenges with family life, school truancy, homelessness, poor peer relationships, or experienced abuse and neglect. We want to provide these kids an opportunity to become healthy individuals who are empowered to positively impact future generations.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Home
Kids start their life at Cookson Hills by becoming part of a family. They move into one of our twelve childcare homes with married houseparents, brothers, and sisters. This home is a place to grow, love, and learn.
Kids work with their Cookson Hills social worker to develop a personalized Plan of Care (POC). This plan gives students the opportunity to recognize areas of growth and set goals that will help them write a better story. Houseparents walk alongside children as the child works toward achieving their goals.
For many kids, Cookson Hills is the only home they will ever know. Their biological families are permanently out of the picture or unable to care for them. So, the people at Cookson Hills become family, and houseparents become surrogate parents. God’s relentless love for these kids is revealed through family life at Cookson Hills.
Eductional Services
Kids at Cookson Hills attend our fully accredited, private, K-12th grade Christian school. Students arrive throughout the year, so year-round sessions give them the opportunity to easily jump into a class. Educational gaps such as lacking a basic foundation, struggling with reading, failing subjects, or excessive absences are common prior to enrollment. So, we adjust for these challenges on an individual basis. We offer opportunities for credit recovery, earning college credit, and partnering with local tech sites for vocational training.
Our school staff focuses on educating students academically, spiritually, and socially in healing focused environment and integrates a Biblical worldview into all content areas. Small class sizes allow teachers to make sure each student is getting the personalized instruction he or she needs to succeed.
Therapy
Kids at Cookson Hills receive weekly therapy sessions where they can talk with a certified therapist. Kids need a safe place to share their heart, grow from past experiences, and gain tools to help them write a better story. We partner with local therapy centers for licensed therapists to ensure that our kids receive consistent, quality, and unbiased counsel. We also provide Equine Assisted therapy through our EGALA-certified equine specialist and therapists.
Children are given the time and space they need to develop trust. Once trust is established, the therapist and student work together to create personalized therapy goals. When necessary, therapists, social workers, and houseparents collaborate to meet the needs of a child. While preserving confidentiality, this simple alert signals that an emotional conversation has occurred and gives houseparents an extra dose of understanding. We are committed to using all the tools available to provide exceptional care for the kids we serve.
Where we work
External reviews
Videos
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?
Cookson Hills's vision is to raise “healthy individuals empowered to positively impact future generations.” In a perfect world, this would happen 100% of the time within a child’s biological family. We believe the family unit is the best place, God’s preferred place, for kids to be raised. But when a family unit gets disrupted, we at Cookson Hills are here, ready to serve those struggling with the unique challenges of growing up in today’s world.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Cookson Hills provides home, school, and therapy for kids who are at-risk. This no-cost alternative to foster care serves kids ages 5-17, who want to write a better story for their lives and have faced challenges with family life, school truancy, homelessness, poor peer relationships, or experienced abuse and neglect.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
In 1957 we opened our doors and hearts to kids in need of stability and love. What began as a single home and a staff of four is now a beautiful estate with twelve homes, a staff of forty-four, an ACSI-accredited private Christian school, a recreation center, and an equine program. Over the years, our responsibilities have grown, but the mission remains the same: to provide home, school, and therapy for kids who are at-risk.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Our recently developed 5-year strategic plan allowed us to take a step back to observe where we are as an organization and to dream about where we need to be. Written by our Board of Directors and Leadership Team, this plan gives direction to 4 primary areas of the ministry including enhancing programs, strengthening finances, increasing employee tenure, and offering professional trainings.
In 2019, we were able to complete each of the goals we had announced in our 2018 Annual Report. These goals were to:
1. Finish construction for the Building on a Legacy of Love Building Project.
2. Establish a sustainable and clean water source to ensure clean water going forward.
3. Develop a campus footprint project that ensures the best use of all resources.
Looking forward, our four primary goals for 2020 are to:
1. Reach enrollment benchmark to operate within 85% capacity of 80 kids.
In 2018 we eliminated the short-term track from our program. Even with this change, some students are still here for shorter periods. For example, if a mother regains stability, she may choose to take her 3 children home after a 5-month stay. Therefore, enrollment numbers are always fluctuating, and while we served 46 kids this year, those 46 kids were not all here at the same time. Our five-year goal is to serve within 85% capacity of 80 kids, at any given time. However, we need time to enroll this many kids and build the proper team to serve them. Therefore, our benchmark goal for 2020 is to operate at 50% capacity, serving 40 kids at any given time.
2. Students participate in 1,000 hours of relaunched equine facilitated programs.
The benefits of equine facilitated programs seem to be endless. They help kids develop physical strength, self-awareness, trust, confidence,
communication skills, and tools for working through anxiety. Some students are excited for this opportunity while others are fearful of working with such a large animal. Our goal is to encourage and empower students to collectively complete 1,000 hours of equine facilitated programs.
3. Complete phase 2 of the Foot Print Project.
The benefits of equine facilitated programs seem to be endless. They help kids develop physical strength, self-awareness, trust, confidence,
communication skills, and tools for working through anxiety. Some students are excited for this opportunity while others are fearful of working with such a large animal. Our goal is to encourage and empower students to collectively complete 1,000 hours of equine facilitated programs.
4. Invest in staff by raising an additional $100,000.
One of the most effective ways we can continue to help the kids we serveis to make sure we have the best possible team. Our goal over this next year is to invest an additional $100,000 in salaries and retirement program incentives. These increases in salaries and retirement benefits allow us to invest and better care for our staff while also improving staff retention.
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?
Children ages 5-17 who are at-risk.
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, 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?
After hearing from our students, we began partnering with a local camp that allows them the chance to go to summer camp.
-
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
-
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 2022 info
11.82
Months of cash in 2022 info
5
Fringe rate in 2022 info
23%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
Cookson Hills Christian School, Inc.
Revenue & expensesFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
Cookson Hills Christian School, Inc.
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
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: Jul 01 - Jun 30
SOURCE: IRS Form 990
This snapshot of Cookson Hills Christian School, Inc.’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 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $687,219 | $534,732 | $1,585,619 | $442,878 | -$414,782 |
| As % of expenses | 29.9% | 23.3% | 65.1% | 16.0% | -13.3% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $25,534 | -$127,079 | $836,000 | -$307,424 | -$1,170,869 |
| As % of expenses | 0.9% | -4.3% | 26.3% | -8.8% | -30.2% |
| Revenue composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $3,746,740 | $2,673,878 | $3,048,346 | $2,501,675 | $3,944,943 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | 25.1% | -28.6% | 14.0% | -17.9% | 57.7% |
| Program services revenue | 0.5% | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 1.3% |
| Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 2.7% | 4.3% | 6.5% | 3.4% | 2.3% |
| Government grants | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8.1% | 6.8% | 13.0% |
| All other grants and contributions | 83.9% | 95.4% | 74.2% | 91.0% | 77.6% |
| Other revenue | 12.8% | -0.3% | 10.8% | -1.5% | 5.8% |
| Expense composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $2,296,966 | $2,299,294 | $2,434,977 | $2,760,910 | $3,114,596 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | -6.7% | 0.1% | 5.9% | 13.4% | 12.8% |
| Personnel | 55.8% | 58.2% | 58.8% | 63.6% | 60.8% |
| Professional fees | 3.6% | 1.7% | 2.2% | 3.6% | 4.5% |
| Occupancy | 12.3% | 8.0% | 12.1% | 13.3% | 12.5% |
| Interest | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pass-through | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| All other expenses | 28.0% | 32.0% | 26.6% | 19.3% | 21.9% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $2,958,651 | $2,961,105 | $3,184,596 | $3,511,212 | $3,870,683 |
| One month of savings | $191,414 | $191,608 | $202,915 | $230,076 | $259,550 |
| Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Fixed asset additions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $3,150,065 | $3,152,713 | $3,387,511 | $3,741,288 | $4,130,233 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 11.9 | 11.6 | 8.3 | 5.8 | 5.0 |
| Months of cash and investments | 36.1 | 36.3 | 33.0 | 29.9 | 24.0 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 26.3 | 26.6 | 29.8 | 26.6 | 19.9 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $2,276,230 | $2,224,459 | $1,690,159 | $1,343,830 | $1,286,118 |
| Investments | $4,642,620 | $4,729,896 | $5,005,179 | $5,539,536 | $4,954,067 |
| Receivables | $150,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $331,884 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $16,744,867 | $17,055,607 | $17,434,567 | $17,614,722 | $18,095,593 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 31.3% | 33.7% | 35.8% | 38.6% | 41.5% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 3.3% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 3.0% | 2.9% |
| Unrestricted net assets | $16,532,847 | $16,405,768 | $17,241,768 | $16,934,344 | $15,763,475 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $1,476,599 | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $10,000 | $1,443,878 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $1,486,599 | $1,443,878 | $245,819 | $363,780 | $960,187 |
| Total net assets | $18,019,446 | $17,849,646 | $17,487,587 | $17,298,124 | $16,723,662 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
Executive Director
Mr. Ron Riley
Ron’s first memory of Cookson Hills is from the North American Christian Convention Bible Bowl Tournament in 1990 where his youth group was taking on the kids from Cookson Hills. Spoiler alert, Cookson Hills won the national championship that year! During his college years, he learned that many of his classmates grew up at Cookson Hills. Once he became a minister of the Gospel, many of the churches he led were supporters of the ministry too. Ron joined the Board of Directors at Cookson Hills in 2018, and in July 2019, he became the Executive Director. Ron has a Bachelor of Theology in Old Testament and a Bachelor of Biblical Literature from Ozark Christian College. Additionally, he has a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Lincoln Christian University. Ron lives on campus with his wife, Donna, and their children. When Ron is not in the office, he is likely reading or listening to books, watching football, or spending time with his family.
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
Cookson Hills Christian School, Inc.
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
Cookson Hills Christian School, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 05/11/2023
Board of directors data
Mr. Paul Johnson
Paragon Films
Term: 2019 - 2026
Mrs. Stephanie Elliott
TW Metals LLC
Term: 2020 - 2023
Amy Fichtner
Southern Nazarene University
Nelson Horton
Entrepreneur
Missy Franklin
RNC-OB, MSN Professor
Karen Clark
Tulsa Boys Home
Kim Hickey
Leggett & Platt, Incorporated
Tyson Schwerdtfeger
Alliance Resource Partners
Bryan Champ
First Church Owasso
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
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/18/2022GuideStar 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 ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- 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.
Contractors
Fiscal year endingProfessional fundraisers
Fiscal year endingSOURCE: IRS Form 990 Schedule G
Solicitation activities
GuideStar Pro Reports
Report successfully added to your cart!
Want more data?
A GuideStar Pro report containing the following information is available for this organization:
- Email contact information
- Financial trends metrics for five most recent years 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018*
- Financial statements for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2018, 2017
- Letter of Determination
- Officer and/or Employee data for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018
- Contractor and/or Paid Preparer data for 2022, 2021, 2020
- Board of Directors data for 2023
- *with the ability to download the data for 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018
Download it now for $125.
Need the ability to download nonprofit data and more advanced search options?Consider a Pro Search subscription.