Determined to Succeed

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
821454808
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Santa Monica, CA, USA
Phone
4242269527
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$813,558
Expenses
$833,863
Assets
$629,433
Liabilities
$55,991

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Emmanuel Mendez (STEM Specialist): $91,567 total reported compensation
  • Mimi Neandross (Executive Dir.): $81,475 total reported compensation
  • Diana Monaco (Philanthropy): $81,383 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Determined to Succeed (DTS)is a college access and success program that provides highly motivated, underserved students with comprehensive, year-round support and resources for academics, overall wellness, and social and emotional growth, in order to realize their goals of high school and college graduation and set themselves on the path to fulfilling futures.

What it reported doing in 2024

We provide our students with: Academic support, with an emphasis on mathematics and literacy, through daily after-school study sessions; study skill and executive functioning skill development; individual mental health counseling; topical health and wellness education; college preparation, including college counseling, SAT/ACT test preparation, college application and financial aid application assistance, College Application Boot Camp, local and state-wide college campus visits; robust summer programming, including Bridge to High School, Bridge to College, Health & Wellness Intensive, and Math Boost; and family engagement workshops.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 91%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 88.5%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.5%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.75; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 49.2%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.3% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 19.4% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 91% of revenue deployed · 88.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $738K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $92K · 16 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.