Center for Excellence in Education

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521256563
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
McLean, VA, USA
Phone
7034489062
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Mathematics

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,218,108
Expenses
$3,567,596
Assets
$11,898,638
Liabilities
$314,573

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

Leadership & pay

34 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Joann P DiGennaro (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Joann P DiGennaro (President): $289,000 total reported compensation
  • Christopher Sedlock (VP for Communication & Adv): $193,450 total reported compensation
  • Maite Ballestero (Executive VP of Programs): $187,785 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Through its programs, the Center seeks high achieving high school and university students from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds to further develop their mathematical and scientific skills.

What it reported doing in 2024

Research science institute at MIT, 100 high school students from the us and abroad yielded winners in national math and science competitions and assisted students in gaining admission to top tier universities. In-kind donations of room and board, facilities and other related expenses to house staff and students were provided by MIT.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.8%; rating input score 97; 26th 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: 15.4%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.34; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.6%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 30 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 5 filed program accomplishments · $3.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $289K · 34 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.