Campus Organizing Support Services

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
271687873
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2010
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Phone
6172924805
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$752,563
Expenses
$755,791
Assets
$2,021,020
Liabilities
$1,313,879

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ABRAHAM SCARR (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANDREW MACDONALD (NATIONAL ORGANIZING DIRECT): $133,290 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL KATZ (TREASURER): $101,124 total reported compensation
  • ABRAHAM SCARR (PRESIDENT): $98,454 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote the civic engagement of college and university students and advocate on the issues affecting this population, such as college affordability, ending hunger and homelessness, and protecting our environment.

What it reported doing in 2024

To promote the civic engagement of college and university students and advocate on the issues affecting this population, such as college affordability, ending hunger and homelessness, and protecting our environment. The organization receives support for its work from college and university student organizations who utilize its resources and programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 37
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.4%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.67; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.65; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.2%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $626K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $133K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 29 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.