Connected the National Center for College and Career

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204781979
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5108494945
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,001,950
Expenses
$3,836,124
Assets
$1,524,304
Liabilities
$505,412

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GARY HOACHLANDER (PRESIDENT UNTIL 12/31/24)
  • ASH VASUDEVA (PRESIDENT 1/1/25-6/30/25)
  • RICHARD WHITMORE (INTERIM PRESIDENT AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • GARY HOACHLANDER (PRESIDENT UNTIL 12/31/24): $407,776 total reported compensation
  • ROB ATTERBURY (DIRECTOR, REGIONAL LINKED): $242,268 total reported compensation
  • DAPHANNIE STEPHENS (CHIEF PROGRAMS OFFICER): $234,021 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Connected: the national center for college and career partners with school, district, and community leaders to transform education through linked learning pathways so that all students, regardless of background, are prepared to succeed in college, career, community and life.

What it reported doing in 2024

Strenghthen capacity for effective learning, teaching and leading: we partner with site and district leadership teams to design, support, and sustain impactful professional learning through communities of practice that use evidence-based cycles of inquiry, analyses of student and adult work, protocols for effective collaboration, and a variety of online tools, resources, and exemplars. We help leadership teams to examine current conditions, develop and implement equitable policies, systems, and structures that support sustaining, expanding, and continuously improving pathways in middle and high school and into post-secondary.

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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.8%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 73.9%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 17th 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: 4.1%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.4; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 64%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10.3% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -12.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.8% of revenue deployed · 73.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $408K · 20 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $251K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 52/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.