Cincinnati Scholarship Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
310603619
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Phone
5133456701
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,018,624
Expenses
$2,439,273
Assets
$6,655,256
Liabilities
$33,741

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • WHITNEY O'NEAL (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • WHITNEY O'NEAL (PRESIDENT & CEO): $105,420 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the organization is to connect students residing in greater cincinnati with post-high school scholarship opportunities to pursue their educational goals

What it reported doing in 2024

Scholarships- the object of the organization is to create, maintain, and administer funds for the educational advancement of worthy and financially needy college students. Since 1964 over $62,871,729 in scholarships have been awarded to 41,415 area students.see schedule i for details of the current year scholarships awarded.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 92% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 82.7%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $23.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 23rd 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: 19.2%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.73; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.3%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.2% of revenue deployed · 82.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 14 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $105K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.