Act Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
272574917
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2016
Forms available
Form 990 2016, Form 990-EZ 2010
Location
Iowa City, IA, USA
Phone
3193371000
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Private Grantmaking Foundations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,080,894
Expenses
$1,170,036
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PARMINDER K JASSAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARTEN ROORDA (DIRECTOR): $842,215 total reported compensation
  • THOMAS J GOEDKEN (TREASURER): $522,350 total reported compensation
  • PARMINDER K JASSAL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $368,769 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To support the activities of act, inc. ("supported organization".) the purposes of the supported organization include, but are not limited to, advancing education by providing programs, services, and conducting research that assists: a) individuals planning and pursuing education and training, b) educators delivering instruction and training, and c) policy makers concerned with ensuring that individuals are ready for education and workplace success.

What it reported doing in 2016

To support the activities and mission of its supported organization, act inc.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 67% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 37
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77.9%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 80.8%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 45.6%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.4% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $912K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $842K · 5 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $312K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2011 to 2016
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.