Delaware Valley Science Fairs Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232748891
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
West Chester, PA, USA
Phone
6104581155
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$308,685
Expenses
$421,366
Assets
$1,090,772
Liabilities
$28,526

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Robert Solomon (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Robert Solomon (President & CEO): $80,308 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 bring parents, teachers, and industry together to stimulate and nurture young people so that they grow and develop into contributing members of the community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Delaware valley science fairs, inc. (dvsf) is a non-profit organization which works with and through public, parochial, home schoolers, and independent schools in eastern Pennsylvania, southeastern New Jersey, and Delaware to stimulate, nurture, and reward the study of science and technology among middle and high school students using a program of carefully defined science research competitions organized by grade level. Dvsf provides services on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, age, color, religion, gender, national origin, or condition of disability. Students who enter competition at local school level: 10,000 approx. Students who go on to compete in five dvsf fairs: 800 approx. Students who go on to compete in international fair: 16 approx. Students that participate in regional county fairs, supported by dvsf: 3,000 approx.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.5%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 69.7%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 90.2%; rating input score 90; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.7%; rating input score 96; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -36.5%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.59; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.1%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.3% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.5% of revenue deployed · 69.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 23 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $294K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 24 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 27 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.