Center for Student Opportunity Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421559197
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Bethesda, MD, USA
Phone
3013634222
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$482,428
Expenses
$500,974
Assets
$351,152
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Matthew Rubinoff (Exec Director/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Matthew Rubinoff (Exec Director/CEO): $89,375 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To empower first-generation college students on the path to and through college.

What it reported doing in 2014

Educational Programs, General/Other: Partnerships with 170+ colleges and universities to promote and strengthen opportunities for first-generation college-bound students generating $405,200 in revenue; Published and distributed 4,000 copies of the I'm First! Guide to College, a unique college guidebook for first-generation college students generating $42,019 in revenue; support over 5,500 aspiring first-generation college students with college search and planning on ImFirst.org; awarded 34 I'm First! Scholarships totaling $54,000.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 93% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 31
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.8%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 72%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.8%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.7; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.8%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 68.7% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -8.5% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.8% of revenue deployed · 72% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $361K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $89K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2010 to 2014
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.