Absolute Return for Kids Us Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
134147912
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Syosset, NY, USA
Phone
2124179404
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Relief

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$110,002
Expenses
$109,018
Assets
$124,188
Liabilities
$110,500

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

People named in this filing

  • GARY YANNAZZO (CHAIRMAN)
  • ANTHONY CHEN (DIRECTOR)
  • JACQUELINE RUSSELL (CFO)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Ark us supports arks international programs, subject to the approval of ark us board of directors, while also exploring new programming ventures in the americas.

What it reported doing in 2020

Absolute return for kids us, inc.(ark us) supports absolute return for kids (ark), whose purpose is to make sure that all children, regardless of their background, have access to a great education. It focuses on three areas: uk education; international education; and education ventures. Uk education: ark is the parent organization of ark schools, one of the uk's top-performing academy networks - with 38 schools and nearly 26,000 pupils the goal is that every child at an ark school has access to the education and skills they need to succeed after school, whether at university and or in the career of their choice. International education: internationally, ark works in partnership to make a difference and spread expertise through initiatives that improve education systems across the world. Our international venture, education partnerships group, is working to bring governments and education organisations closer together to create better schools. In india and uganda. This involves implementing new ways of tracking and improving school quality and student performance. In kenya and south africa. This includes developing low-cost school information systems to support student progress through better use of data. Education ventures: ark incubates, launches and scales innovative ventures which aim to address long-standing educational issues.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.9%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 91.7%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Pass
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.9%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.14; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.89; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -22.3% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -22.5% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -20.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.9% of revenue deployed · 91.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $100K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and foreign activity
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2010 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.