Decode Project Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 832280075
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2018
- Location
- Louisville, KY, USA
- Phone
- 5023843953
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Remedial Reading, Reading Encouragement
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $204,353
- Expenses
- $348,654
- Assets
- $130,713
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LATOYA WHITLOCK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- LATOYA WHITLOCK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $60,951 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 eliminate inequities in education by fostering a diverse community of learners prepared to navigate the world.
What it reported doing in 2024
The decode project works to close the opportunity gap by providing students with learning differences and financial barriers effective, structured literacy instructions. This is accomplished by the training of literacy mentors, teaching kids to read and developing a network of advocates. We prepare future educators and community leaders with training in evidence-based, multi sensory structured literacy, resilience building, healing-centered care and anti-racist/anti-biased relationship-building. As we teach kids to read, we have identified that many children enter school with weak literacy skills and that children with early literacy interventions are four times more likely to graduate from high school. Our literacy interventions are multi-sensory, evidence-based, scientifically proven and tailored to each student. We develop a network of advocates by providing workshops, resources, individualized reports and advocacy support for caregivers, youth-serving organizations, schools and educators who become resources for our students. .
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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 19
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 75.5%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: $37.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: 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: -70.6%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 17.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 20.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 75.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $263K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $61K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.