Here's some financial information about Children First. The annual CFI operating budget is about $275,000. This funding comes largely from private foundations. Two documents help the public understand the financial picture of an organization, the audit and 990 form.
The IRS Form 990 is titled "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax." It is submitted by tax-exempt organizations and non-profit organizations to provide the Internal Revenue Service with annual financial information. The Form 990 provides the public with financial information about a given organization, and is often the only source of such information. It is also used by government agencies to prevent organizations from abusing their tax-exempt status. Funders often require it. See the most recent CFI 990 from 2009.
An audit is an independent assessment of the fairness by which a company's financial statements are presented by its management. It is performed by competent, independent and objective person(s) known as auditors or accountants, who then issue an auditor's report based on the results of the audit. See the 2009 CFI audit here. The 2010 audit will be available in May 2011.
Note that both the audit and 990 form show the combined operations of Meriden Children First and CT Parent Power. CFI served as the 'parent' organization for Parent Power. Parent Power moved to a new 'home' (the Connecticut Association of Human Services) effective January 1, 2010.
Early each winter, the Children First Director and Board of Directors work to develop an operating budget for the following year. Here is the budget for 2010, along with a narrative that describes each activity area in more detail. Budgets say a lot about what's important to an organization.
