Center for Black Educator Development

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841814119
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Phone
2679948439
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,325,663
Expenses
$8,665,153
Assets
$33,289,058
Liabilities
$1,522,918

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHARIF EL MEKKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHARIF EL MEKKI (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $266,614 total reported compensation
  • SHERRY REYNOLDS-WHITAKER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $203,305 total reported compensation
  • VANESSA RENEE (CHIEF OF STAFF): $168,868 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 ensure there will be equity in the recruiting, training, hiring, and retention of quality educators who both reflect the cultural background and share the common socio-political interests of the students they serve.

What it reported doing in 2024

Teaching pathways - the freedom school's literary academy is a 4 week summer program offered both virtually and onsite in philadelphia to provide college-aged individuals and high school students opportunities to explore and deepen their interest in becoming not just teachers, but educator activists. As apprentices, students provide rising 1st through 3rd grade scholars with literacy intervention and an affirming space that celebrates both their culture and their racial identity. All fsla participants are eligible for the center's black teacher pipeline fellowship, which provides academic support, professional development, scholarships to college-aged individuals, and retention stipends after they have entered the education field.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 80% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 75% for direct work, and 25% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 44
  • Transparency & Controls: 63
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 82
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 30.8%; rating input score 31
  • Program expense ratio: 54.6%; rating input score 55
  • Fundraising efficiency: $40.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 50%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.84; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 30.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 39.3% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 30.8% of revenue deployed · 54.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $267K · 9 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 37 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 9 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 31/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.