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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: May 2026 Expires: May 2027

KUTO Kids Under Twenty One

Accredited Charity
Accredited Charity

Meets Standards
(314) 963-7571
2718 S Brentwood Blvd
Saint Louis, MO, 63144
http://kuto.org/
📄 Full Report 🖨️ Print 📋 BBB Charity Standards

Standards For Charity Accountability

Governance

  1. Board Oversight
  2. Board Size
  3. Board Meetings
  4. Board Compensation
  5. Conflict of Interest

Measuring Effectiveness

  1. Effectiveness Policy
  2. Effectiveness Report

Finances

  1. Program Expenses
  2. Fundraising Expenses
  3. Accumulating Funds
  4. Audit Report
  5. Detailed Expense Breakdown
  6. Accurate Expense Reporting
  7. Budget Plan

Fundraising & Info

  1. Truthful Materials
  2. Annual Report
  3. Website Disclosures
  4. Donor Privacy
  5. Cause Marketing Disclosures
  6. Complaints

KUTO Kids Under Twenty One meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
KUTO's mission is to prevent suicide and foster the emotioal well-being of youth.  KUTO prepares teens with the skills, confidence and courage to help their peers, and themselves, cope before, during and after crisis.  Our crisis prevention, suicide intervention, and postvention support services include commuity awareness, outreach and education; a youth staffed telephone hotline; Peer Helpter Skills Training, and support for survivors of a suicide loss.

Year, State Incorporated:
1988, MO

Also Known As:
Kids Under Twenty One, KUTO

KUTO is best known for its Crisis Helpline, staffed by trained teen volunteers from 4 pm to 10 pm Sunday-Thursday and from 4 pm -12 am Friday and Saturday. The Helpline is a safe resource for youth to express their concerns, identify stresors and realize effective coping mechanisms. Youth Crisis Workers field as many as 100 calls every month, helping callers find ways to cope with stress, depression and overcome thoughts of suicide. KUTO also provides practical Community Outreach and Education helping teens and adults become more aware and sensitive to issues of teen stress & depression, effective coping mechanism, crisis intervention strategies and adolescent suicide. KUTO's Community Enrichment programs reach over 12,800 annually, 80% of which are youth under the age of 24. Forty area middle and high schools partner with KUTO to distribute more than 30,000 KUTO Crisis Helpline wallet cards each year and promote awareness that suicide is a leading cause of adolescent death that can be prevented and KUTO's SurvivAbility groups help young people struggling as survivors of an attempted or completed suicide. KUTO is a member of the American Association of Suicidology (AAS), the national clearinghouse for prevention of suicide, and is recognized by the Missouri Department of Mental Health as suicide prevention specialists. KUTO works collaboratively with area public, private and parochial schools, as well as with mental health and wellness organizations.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, KUTO Kids Under Twenty One's program expenses were:

Programs $116,176
Total Program Expenses $116,176

Chief Executive
Elizabeth Makulec, Executive Director

Chair of the Board
Mary Claire Hayek

Board Size
6

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Invitations to fund raising events, Print advertisements (newspapers, magazines, etc.), Television, Grant proposals, Internet, Cause-related marketing (affinity credit cards, consumer product sales, etc.)

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on KUTO Kids Under Twenty One's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Source of Funds
Contributions, Grants, and Program Service Fees $127,654
Special Events $74,798
Investment Income $50,220
Other $2,911
Total Income $255,583

Programs: 65% Fundraising: 13% Administrative: 22%

Total Income $255,583
Total expenses: $179,978
  Program expenses $116,176
  Fundraising expenses $23,335
  Administrative expenses $40,468
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $75,605
Beginning Net Assets $393,442
Other Changes In Net Assets $0
Ending Net Assets $269,047
Total Liabilities $7,559
Total Assets $476,606

An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.

This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.

RELATED CONTENT

Report completed by:
BBB of Eastern & Southwest Missouri & Southern Illinois