Collegiate Edu-nation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 832468060
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2018–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Roscoe, TX, USA
- Phone
- 3253631030
- Rating
- 74
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Student Services, Organizations of Students
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,878,622
- Expenses
- $3,527,984
- Assets
- $4,182,769
- Liabilities
- $67,591
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KIMALEXANDER (CEO)
- RACHEL MCCLAIN (PRESIDENT)
- SUSAN HOLLEY (Board President)
Highest reported compensation
- KIMALEXANDER (CEO): $156,402 total reported compensation
- RACHEL MCCLAIN (PRESIDENT): $116,807 total reported compensation
- Susan Grove (Chief Dev): $108,633 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 end generational poverty in rural America by empowering rural school districts and communities to support and educate students/youth, beginning at home, continuing from the first day of Pre-K through postsecondary, leading to meaningful careers for lifetime success.
What it reported doing in 2024
Pillar Three advanced rural empowerment by launching new initiatives and expanding national advocacy and partnership efforts to elevate rural priorities in education and workforce development. Through national convenings, virtual learning, student exposure opportunities, and multi-state expansion efforts, CEN strengthened rural voice, increased cross-sector alignment, and accelerated the spread of effective rural models.Metrics and OutcomesHosted the inaugural National Rural Empowerment Conference, convening rural K12 districts, higher education partners, and employers with cross-sector sessions on rural education-to-workforce pathways.Launched a recurring Rural Lunch & Learn Series, providing accessible virtual professional learning on stakeholder-identified rural priorities (e.g., apprenticeships, broadband-enabled learning, teacher pathways).Began the Ask the Expert student series, connecting rural middle and high school students with industry and postsecondary professionals to increase exposure to high-value careers and credentials.Launched the National Rural Ambassadors Program, equipping rural educators, students, and community partners to elevate rural success stories and inform policy and funding conversations.Provided nonpartisan rural advocacy and technical guidance through testimony/briefings, coalition participation, and dissemination of rural best practices to strengthen rural access to high-value pathways.Expanded operations into additional states and hosted a national convening representing 7 states, with active conversations underway in 9 states regarding rural P20 support and implementation.Strengthened cross-sector partnerships among ISDs, IHEs, employers, and philanthropic partners through conference engagement, and stakeholder roundtables to align investment with rural priorities.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 67
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 68.1%; rating input score 68
- Program expense ratio: 74.4%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $12.47 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: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 9%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.19; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 16.6%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 39.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 33.2% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 34.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 68.1% of revenue deployed · 74.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $156K · 17 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $108K reported
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- 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 45/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 16/100.