Delaware College Scholars Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 824608572
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Wilmington, DE, USA
- Phone
- 3024376144
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Youth Development Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,650,182
- Expenses
- $1,309,241
- Assets
- $665,587
- Liabilities
- $49,858
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TAD ROACH (PRESIDENT)
- TONY ALLEYNE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- TONY ALLEYNE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $131,336 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 academically and socially prepare high-achieving, under-resourced Delaware public high school students for successfully applying to, succeeding in, and graduating from four-year colleges and universities. Preference is given to first-generation college students.
What it reported doing in 2024
Our tuition-free seven-year program with a three-year residential component helps the best and brightest disadvantaged students navigate the complex path to college acceptance, college persistence and career success. The effectiveness and impact of the program are best illustrated with the following statistics: 100% of students in the program graduate from high school on time vs. 64% of their peers; 98% will enter college directly after high school vs. 24% of their peers; 94% will choose to attend four-year colleges or universities vs. 8% of their peers, and; 95% of those attending will persist to their sophomore year at a four-year institution vs. 17% of their peers. During calendar year 2023 (the 10th year of the program), dcs proudly presents the following program accomplishments: cohorts 1,2, 3, 4 & 5 - 78%,76%, 80%, 81% and 75% have graduated from 4-year colleges on time.cohorts 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 continued progressing through the program.cohort 11 - 50 new in-person scholars began the residential portion of the dcs program at the Delaware state university campus.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 69
- Sustainability: 53
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 61%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 76.9%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: $19.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- 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: 20.7%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.51; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 61% of revenue deployed · 76.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $131K · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.