Educational Advancement Fund Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364480416
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2021
Forms available
Form 990 2021
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3123626659
Rating
30
Verdict
REVIEW
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$30,511
Expenses
$30,511
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Sherri Sidler (President/Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr Gabriel Esteban (Board Chair): $1,067,742 total reported compensation
  • Dr Kwang-Wu Kim (Director): $844,921 total reported compensation
  • Dr Ali Malekzadeh (Director): $786,567 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization's primary exempt purpose is the maintenance of a residential housing complex for the benefit of three Chicago-area tax-exempt institutions of higher learning and providing housing to the students thereof.

What it reported doing in 2021

Educational Advancement Fund, Inc. is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization formed to acquire land and construct, operate, and maintain a college and university residential complex. The complex is located at State Street and Congress Parkway in Chicago, Illinois (the project). The corporation commenced construction of the project in spring 2002, and was substantially completed on July 31, 2004. The project began operations in August 2004. On July 20, 2017 Educational Advancement Fund closed on business transaction that sold the property to a new owner.

Operating model

Revenue model
Affiliate-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
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

REVIEW - The filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 15
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 18
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 17.2%; rating input score 17
  • Program expense ratio: 17.2%; rating input score 17
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1,162.7%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -37.2% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -9.8% per year; rating input score 0; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -21% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 17.2% of revenue deployed · 17.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $1.1M · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2021
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 17/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.