Buck Institute for Education
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 680160429
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- San Rafael, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4158830122
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $12,402,762
- Expenses
- $14,158,599
- Assets
- $11,442,593
- Liabilities
- $1,926,420
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ROBERT C LENZ (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
- VIRGEL HAMMONDS (PRESIDENT, BOARD CHAIR)
Highest reported compensation
- ROBERT C LENZ (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $402,314 total reported compensation
- CHRIS WALSH (CHIEF PRODUCT & TECH. OFFICER): $282,245 total reported compensation
- KATHLEEN SCHWILLE (ED OF TEACHING & ASSESSMENT): $235,710 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
At pblworks, we build the capacity of teachers to design and facilitate quality project based learning and the capacity of school and system leaders to set the conditions for teachers to implement great projects with all students.
What it reported doing in 2024
Buck institute for education offers conferences for project based learning (pbl) that include professional learning opportunities for teachers, leaders, and instructional coaches. These events include buck institute for education's exemplary workshops, inspiring keynote speakers, and community building opportunities to catalyze transformational change in teaching and learning. Pbl world is hosted by buck institute for education and it's the premier conference for project based learning. Pblworld 2021 was hosted in person. Project 700
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 86% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 47
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 20
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 96.7%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: -14.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.81; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 16%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 96.7% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $11.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $402K · 19 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.