Achieve Foundation of South Orange and Maplewood Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
222822566
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Maplewood, NJ, USA
Phone
9737625600
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$363,520
Expenses
$347,124
Assets
$462,221
Liabilities
$2,402

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

People named in this filing

  • EILEEN COLLINS (EXECUTIVE DI)
  • BRAD SCHENKER (BOARD PRESID)
  • MARY BROWN (VP, COMMUNIC)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The achieve foundation promotes high-quality education that prepares south-orange-maplewood school district students for the future. We support our students, families and educators by addressing inequities, inspiring innovation and fostering community. This includes: champion excellence: enhancing student experiences through meaningful programs, grants and funding that advance best educational practices address equity: addressing the opportunity gap and unmet educational needs for vulnerable students in the district build community: bringing together and working in coordination with stakeholders (students, families, teachers, administrators, volunteers, community at large) to strengthen and enrich educational experiences deliver solutions: listening to stakeholders, evaluating options, and responding to evolving needs throughout the district

What it reported doing in 2024

Achieve raises funds and gives financial and programmatic support throughout the school district, touching thousands of students from preschool-12th grade. Through meaningful programming - like the achieve volunteer tutor program, college test prep and essay coaching in partnership with the mac (minority/multicultural achievement community), educator grants, annual maker madness steam fair, and pollock arts initiative - achieve aims to enhance educational experiences for students, foster best educational practices, and address the educational opportunity gap.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 64% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 52
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.6%; rating input score 65
  • Program expense ratio: 65.9%; rating input score 66
  • Fundraising efficiency: $68.34 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.5%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.33; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -8.8% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.6% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.6% of revenue deployed · 65.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $229K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 50/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.