Effective Leadership Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
263385437
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2012, Form 990-N 2010
Location
Warrensville Heights, OH, USA
Phone
2162928775
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,259,128
Expenses
$1,369,476
Assets
$1,401,206
Liabilities
$312,770

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MATTHEW OSTRANDER (DIRECTOR/PRESIDENT)
  • PAT STOLARSKI (DIRECTOR/VICE PRESIDENT)
  • FLORA BRETT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • FLORA BRETT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $135,789 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ela's mission is to help people develop their most valuable asset - themselves. Our goal is to equip people with the skills and tools they need to learn, earn, and confidently navigate the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Reentry: ela's reentry program serves youth involved in the criminal justice system as they transition back into society. Through intensive group and/or individualized programming, ela facilitators teach juvenile offenders the leadership and soft skills they need to be become their very best selves and prepare for positive futures despite the challenges they currently face. The group sessions cover essential skills that these youth will need to set goals, change their mindsets, adjust their attitudes and habits and reduce recidivism as they move out of jail, prison or detention facilities back to their home environments. One-on-one sessions help students develop their own action plan and life map to prepare for successful reentry and reduce recidivism.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 63% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.9%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: -8.8%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.4% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.9% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 7 filed program accomplishments · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $136K · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 43/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.