Benola Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
821126823
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2024
Location
New Orleans, LA, USA
Phone
5048123487
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$522,571
Expenses
$994,002
Assets
$468,966
Liabilities
$29,667

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Darryl Kilbert (Vice President)
  • Jonathan Wilson (President)

People named in this filing

  • Ashana Bigardf (Director)
  • Dr Margarret Montgomery-Richard (Director)
  • Bishop Tom B Watson (Director)

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 mission of BE NOLA is to ignite the Black Brilliance that exists throughout schools and neighborhoods to ensure Black children thrive. To achieve this we: Research and codify the innovations and strengths of New Orleans Black educators, schools, and families Provide resources and professional development to Black educators and Black-led, Black-governed schools to exemplify quality Black education Convene and mobilize Black parents, educators and community partners to demand support for pedagogies, policies and practices that support quality Black education and whole child well-being Empower the larger public to know the past, acknowledge the present and demand the future of Black Brilliance in New Orleans

What it reported doing in 2024

Black Is Brilliant Summit Pop-up at Essence Fest (Program 1) BE NOLAs annual citywide education summit provides a space at the beginning of the school year to affirm the connection and shared purpose of our education community in New Orleans, examine timely education issues from a strength-based lens, and connect educators to resources and support organizations in the broader "village. It embodies BE NOLAs mantra that education is a lifestyle by going beyond the four walls of a classroom to connect culture and education. In 2024, BE NOLA took a bold step toward nationalizing our Black Is Brilliant Summit by hosting our first-ever Summit Pop-up at ESSENCE Festival. This strategic activation served as a preview and foundation for our upcoming national summit launch in 2025. The Summit Pop-up embodied our core belief that "education is a lifestyle" by creating an extraordinary space during one of the nation's most celebrated gatherings of Black culture and community. Held at The Eliza Jane Hotel on July 4th, the sold-out event brought together educators, thought leaders, and community supporters from across the country to celebrate Black brilliance in education. This activation demonstrated the national appetite for culturally affirming spaces where Black educators can connect, recharge, and deepen their engagement with impactful education practices validating our vision for expanding the Summit's reach beyond New Orleans in 2025. In 2024, we hosted our inaugural Institute Alumni Retreat, bringing together graduates from both cohorts to reflect on their transformative experiences and chart our path forward. This powerful Expenses (Direct Costs) Total: $97,234.70 FY24 Revenue total: $50,000 gathering highlighted the Institute's lasting impact while surfacing critical insights for continuous support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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 total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.3%; rating input score 98
  • Program expense ratio: 51.7%; rating input score 52
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 86.7%; rating input score 87; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 23rd 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -90.2%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.47; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -2.5% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.3% of revenue deployed · 51.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $514K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 31 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Program expense ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule G fundraiser detail did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.