Ben Franklin Technology Ptrs of Se Pa

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232527210
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2159726700
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Small Business Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,534,909
Expenses
$9,300,991
Assets
$107,202,070
Liabilities
$22,739,864

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

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SCOTT NISSENBAUM (PRESIDENT AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • SANIAH M JOHNSON CPA (CFO/ASST CORPORATE TREASURER): $557,263 total reported compensation
  • SCOTT NISSENBAUM (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $492,167 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM KIESLING (COO/GEN'L COUNSEL/ASST CORP SECRETARY): $382,815 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Ben franklin leads the region's economic development by nurturing and investing in innovative, early-stage companies, and purposeful involvement in relevant regional and national initiatives.

What it reported doing in 2024

Technology & entrepreneurial infrastructure: ben franklin improves the region's economy through the development and support of infrastructure for innovation, includes work to identify and grow regional resources that catalyze and develop regional technology assets that can become platforms for new enterprise growth and provide opportunities to retain and attract talent. Ben franklin leads and partners in the formation of university-industry commercialization models; identifies and supports commercialization acceleration engagements between technology development resources and emerging enterprises; provides support and/or manages regional incubators and accelerators; endorses the publication of capital and technology reports; engages in efforts to stimulate company formation among women and minorities; is active in the region's impact investment community; and partners to create an environment of information exchange and interaction via seminars and events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 62% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 53.5%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 47.3%; rating input score 47
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 40.1%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.53; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 32.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 53.5% of revenue deployed · 47.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $557K · 29 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $338K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 22 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.