Beyond Our Walls Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
331087506
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2017, Form 990-N 2016
Location
North Charleston, SC, USA
Phone
8436974040
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$371,095
Expenses
$373,923
Assets
$277,165
Liabilities
$11,825

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Joyce Maybin Nesmith (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Joyce Maybin Nesmith (Executive Director): $46,800 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

A place where children and adult relationships highlight the importance of achieving increasing levels of academic, behavior and social skills for personal success. Our goal is to expose children living with limited resources to the many cultural and educational opportunities available in our community. All children deserve "the best" regardless of their family's income and the zip code where they live.

What it reported doing in 2024

Beyond Our Walls (BOWs) is a Neighborhood Learning and Activity Center located in North Charleston, South Carolina. School-aged children in Pre-K through 6th grade from area schools are offered healthy meals, academic, behavior, and social activities. Parents are offered peace of mind and support at no cost. When school is out, BOWs is in. We equip students with technology and resources to support school work and literacy. We equip parents with consultation and materials to address the progress of their children in school. Continued on Schedule O.Our FAB 5 Programs Joint Literacy Programs - Our after-school program guides children through foundational learning with reading and mathematics reinforcement lessons. Schools Out When schools are closed for holidaysand breaks, BOWs stands in the gap. We continue in-person learning while adding fun to the kid's day. Scholar Family BOWs partners not only with children but with parents on the move who seek support to further their education or training for new employment opportunities. Summer Camp School eventually ends for the summer, but BOWs stays open with fun, learning, and life skills in and outdoors. Virtual HUB Sometimes in-person learning isn'tan option. That's when BOWs steps in with virtual learning at our learning center.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.7%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 74.7%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.74; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 32% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75.7% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $279K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $47K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.