Brilliance and Excellence Nfp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
882941624
IRS 990 coverage
2025–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-N 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7732573773
Rating
54
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Reported finances

Revenue
$265,100
Expenses
$240,782
Assets
$26,399
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Vondale Singleton (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Vondale Singleton (CEO): $12,800 total reported compensation
  • Jermaine Anderson (Board Chairman): $10,600 total reported compensation
  • Darnell Leatherwood (Secretary): $10,600 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Brilliance and Excellence Movement exists to showcase the brilliance and excellence of boys and young men of color while working to promote safe and peaceful communities. The movements work centers on elevating opportunity highlighting positive outcomes and uplifting community narratives in ways that foster safety belonging and purposeful growth for youth of color. Brilliance and Excellence serves as the backbone organization for MBK CHICAGO under the broader My Brothers Keeper Alliance framework supported by the Obama Foundation. In that role it coordinates cross-sector support and community engagement aligned with MBKs goals of ensuring young men of color have the environments resources and support systems needed to thrive.

What it reported doing in 2025

MBK Convenings: In 2025 Brilliance and Excellence directed the majority of its program service resources toward planning hosting and facilitating MBK Chicago convenings. These convenings brought together community based organizations schools faith leaders public agencies philanthropy and corporate partners to coordinate services for boys and young men of color. Activities included structured strategy sessions data and outcome alignment program certification guidance and shared learning focused on mentoring safety mental health and workforce pathways. The purpose of the convenings was to strengthen cross sector collaboration align partners to MBK milestones reduce duplication of services and accelerate systems level impact across Chicago.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 45
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 47
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 49%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 53.9%; rating input score 54
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 10th 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: 25%; rating input score 25; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.2%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.11; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 30.4%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 49% of revenue deployed · 53.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $130K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $13K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 41 current checks pass · 9 findings to review
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 25/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX CompCurrentOfficersDirectors column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX FeesForServicesAccounting column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX FeesForServicesOther column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX GrantsToDomesticIndividuals column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX GrantsToDomesticOrgs column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX InformationTechnology column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX OfficeExpenses column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX Travel column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.