Delaware Academy for Public Safety and Security

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262533356
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2016
Forms available
Form 990 2016
Location
New Castle, DE, USA
Phone
3027312777
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,963,118
Expenses
$3,962,751
Assets
$1,589,955
Liabilities
$2,107,284

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHERESE BREWINGTON-CARR (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • HERBERT SHELDON (HEAD OF SCHOOL, MEMBER-EXOFFICIO): $148,355 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Delaware academy of public safety and security charter school is to provide an optimum setting for cadets to graduate from high school and be prepared to succeed as they enter college or a career track by focusing on careers and skills in the first responders field.

What it reported doing in 2016

Dapss completed its sixth year of operation in june 2017. The academy offers grades 9, 10, 11 & 12, serving approximately 270 students in 2016-17. The academy offers sport programs and a wide range of courses, including dual enrollment courses. The school's marketing efforts have gained positive notoriety, specifically with the first responder, police and emt fields. Dapss has expanded its partnership with wilmington university to offer additional dual enrollment courses.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 0%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.4; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.33; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.7% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $148K · 10 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $203K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2010 to 2016
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.