Crime Stoppers of Houston, Inc.

Conclusion

Crime Stoppers of Houston, Inc. meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Purpose

Stated Purpose:

Year, State Incorporated:
1981, TX

Also Known As:
Crime Stoppers of Houston

Programs

Since 1981, Crime Stoppers has assisted the many diverse communities of Houston by providing citizens access to our anonymous cash reward crime
tip line, 713-222-TIPS. Crime Stoppers receives the callers’ information about unsolved crimes and fugitives, and forwards it to law
enforcement. When the information leads to the arrest of a suspect, tipsters are eligible for a cash reward of up to $5,000. As a resource
to report criminal activity, Crime Stoppers is the eyes and ears of law
enforcement in the community.

Tip Line Program: Anonymous tips received in 2019 resulted in the 337 suspects identified, charged and/or arrested, 481 felony cases solved, and $320,525 cash rewards paid to 325 tipsters. In addition to the restricted cash received by court fines to pay tipsters, three area law enforcement agencies donated services valued at $1,823,580.

Safe School Program: This program fulfills part of our mission to not only help solve crimes but to prevent them. CSOH works directly with students in grades Pre K-12 to make sure they are equipped with every possible tool necessary to stay safe in general and particularly on their school campuses. In addition to this effort, Governor Abbot charged CSOH with training Crime Stoppers organizations throughout the State of Texas by holding trainings and sharing all of our materials and safety information. In 2019 we reached 121,674 students, 1,513 parents/community leaders, 10,289 school staff and law enforcement officers and visited 486 schools. This program does not generate revenue as it is sponsored by designated and undesignated grants and donations to CSOH.

Safe Community Program: The free programs offered to the community are designed to help prevent crime.  These programs educated 13,903 citizens through monthly safe community seminars and potentially 34,250 via community outreach and  5.3M via Social Media and Marketing Outreach. Our monthly e-newsletter and social media outreach as a whole reached almost 6 million people.  A series of educational and awareness events were conducted throughout the year to give citizens the tools and resources needed to keep their families safe and free of crime.  Citizen empowerment and education are central to the Safe Community Program's approach to crime prevention.  The Safe Community Program continued work as a hub to bring all non-profits dealing with similar topics together, creating dialogue that makes us stronger and more efficient as a community of involved citizens.  The Safe Community programs do not generate revenue and are funded by undesignated donations and donations designated to programs and initiatives such as Animal Cruelty, Back to School Safety, Bullying, Child Abuse, Counter-Terrorism, Domestic Violence, Elder Abuse, Financial Crimes, Fire Safety, Human Trafficking, Identity Theft, Prom Safety, Seasonal/Retail Safety, Situational Awareness, and Teen Dating Violence.

New in 2019 Tip Line:
In an effort to keep up with prevalent crimes in the Greater Houston Area, Crime Stoppers of Houston is proud to include terroristic threats in schools, missing persons and animal cruelty in our Tip Line over the recent years.

New in 2019, Safe School Institute:
In efforts to keep up with evolving crime trends and threats facing our students and parents, the Safe School Institute added further programming in 2019. The additional programming covered co-hosting our first-ever National Summit on School Safety, providing in-person trainings to school staff in four new regions, creating follow-up assessments for specific presentations, and partnering with the FBI to combat hoax threats. See below for a breakdown of these programs:

National Summit on School Safety -- In March 2019, the Safe School Institute co-hosted the inaugural National Summit on School Safety.
In-person Trainings to New Regions: The Safe School team trained school staff in 4 new regions across the state – Austin, Huntsville, Laredo and Victoria.
Follow-up Assessments: To reinforce safety messaging after middle and high school student presentations, the Safe School Institute implemented follow-up assessments for Cyber Safety, Human Trafficking, Teen Dating Safety, and Substance Abuse Prevention presentations.
Partnered with the FBI to Combat Hoax Threats -- In partnership with the FBI, the Safe School team put on a Hoax Threats PSA contest that aimed to end hoax threats by educating community youth on the consequences of making hoax threats against schools.

New in 2019, Safe Community Program:
In an effort to keep up with prevalent crimes in the Greater Houston Area, the Safe Community Program was proud to unveil its Young Professionals Group, Human Trafficking Bus Tours, Self-Defense Workshops, and created Crime Prevention-Related Videos for distribution in 2019. See below for a breakdown of these programs:
Young Professionals Group – As our services continued to grow and the community became an increasingly integral piece to our mission, we realized there was an important demographic missing: young professionals. In 2019, we made it top priority to engage the next generation and Crime Stoppers of Houston’s first-ever Young Professionals Group (YPG) was born. At approximately 75 members after just a year of activity, the YPG is a membership organization of passionate young professionals in their 20’s and 30’s whose purpose is to support the mission of Crime Stoppers of Houston through fundraising, volunteering and increasing public awareness of Crime Stoppers of Houston’s crime prevention efforts. Members enjoy networking and social events, as well as volunteer and leadership development opportunities.
Bus Tours – In partnership with Elijah Rising, human trafficking bus tours of high-probability trafficking areas in Houston are offered quarterly. This is an opportunity for community members (18+) to learn about current human trafficking trends and to see for themselves what human trafficking looks like in our city.
Self-Defense Workshops – Offered on an ongoing basis, these hands-on self-defense classes are designed to teach basic skills and moves to protect yourself from danger. These trainings cover situational awareness, a plan of action in the face of danger, tools to quickly evaluate the situation, and simple self-defense skills for close range encounters.
Crime Prevention Videos -- Throughout the year, the Safe Community team created and distributed crime prevention videos on various topics including animal safety, mental health, summer safety, financial crimes and more.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, Crime Stoppers of Houston, Inc.'s program expenses were:

Governance & Staff

Chief Executive
Rania Mankarious, Chief Executive Officer

Chair of the Board
Mrs. Lindsay Aronstein, Board Member

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Connectivity Source

Board Size
30

Paid Staff Size
26

Fundraising

Method(s) Used:
Direct mail appeals, Invitations to fund raising events, Grant proposals, Internet

Tax Status

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.

Financial

The following information is based on Crime Stoppers of Houston, Inc.'s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Source of Funds

Programs: 87% Fundraising: 7% Administrative: 5%