California Education Assistance Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953705585
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
El Segundo, CA, USA
Phone
3102428814
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Financial Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,668,223
Expenses
$1,616,266
Assets
$36,218,063
Liabilities
$190,675

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • William Markenson (CEO, Board Chairman)

Highest reported compensation

  • William R Hansen (Chief Administrative Officer): $475,599 total reported compensation
  • William Markenson (CEO, Board Chairman): $332,028 total reported compensation
  • Sheryl Levy (Program Director and Office Manager): $213,358 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

California Education Assistance's mission is to help improve public education in California by removing barriers to learning and fostering creative, innovative solutions that empower students and educators. We are committed to ensuring equitable access to resources, opportunities, and support systems that enable every learner to reach their full potential. Through collaboration, advocacy, and forward-thinking initiatives, we strive to create a future where education is inclusive, dynamic, and transformative for all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Distribute resources to non-profit organizations that provide critical services to California students in support of opportunities for an equitable education, including completion of post-secondary education and achievement of career goals

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and assets have declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 95.9%; rating input score 96; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 19th 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: 3.1%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 22.41; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 68.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -55% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: -71.6% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $476K · 7 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $124K reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 44 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 8 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.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.