Educators for Quality Alternatives Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 270588087
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011
- Location
- New Orleans, LA, USA
- Phone
- 5042679060
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $12,746,069
- Expenses
- $12,440,060
- Assets
- $5,051,831
- Liabilities
- $1,229,119
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TIM GRAY (PRESIDENT)
- SHAKARI FRASER (VICE PRESIDENT)
- ELIZABETH OSTBERG (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- ELIZABETH OSTBERG (CEO): $159,439 total reported compensation
- NEIL POYNTER (CHIEF OF SCHOOLS): $136,125 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 provide struggling high school students with the skills, confidence, and experiences necessary to succeed in the education and career paths of their choice.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization runs the net: central city, the net: gentilly, and the new orleans accelerated high school. Together these schools serve approximately 400 8th-12th graders and have consistently met or exceeded their achievement goals on the alternative accountability rubric. Over 1,000 students have graduated from the nets and the schools have earned a solid reputation among families, advocates, and educators for embracing students with significant needs and providing a transformational experience to support their academic and behavioralgrowth. Eqa runs the bridge middle school. The bridge has served every 7th and 8th grader expelled in orleans parish. This program has consistently met and exceeded all contracted goals. Since opening in 2019, only 2 middle school students in the city of new orleans has been re-expelled, a significant improvement over re-expulsion rates with all previous alternative schools. Eqa runs the nest. The nest childcare center provides free childcare to the infants and toddlers of students at eqa's high schools. Approximately 20% of eqa's students are teenage parents and having on campus childcare is an important part of supporting them in earning their diplomas.eqa also accepts medicaid for related special education services (speech therapy and behavioral services) which would be required by an enrolled student's iep.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 94% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 91
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 89.8%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 92%; rating input score 92
- Fundraising efficiency: $1,487.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.4%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.41; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.4%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 89.8% of revenue deployed · 92% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $11.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $159K · 11 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
- Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.