Embracing Explorations

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
880584665
IRS 990-EZ coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990-EZ 2024, Form 990-N 2023
Location
Waterloo, IA, USA
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Cultural, Ethnic Awareness

Reported finances

Revenue
$67,835
Expenses
$60,290
Assets
$7,579

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Madelyn Ridgeway (President)
  • Shaffer Ridgeway (Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Madelyn Ridgeway (President)
  • Shaffer Ridgeway (Vice President)
  • Gina Weekley (Treasurer)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Expose youth and their families to opportunities and experiences outside their everyday norm.

What it reported doing in 2024

A Different World Future Prep Academy & HBCU College Tour are youth development programs designed to expand college readiness cultural awareness and leadership skills for historically underserved students. In 2024 14 youth participated in a five-week academy where they gained essential skills in mental health and wellness budgeting and personal finance college preparation financial aid navigation and business etiquette.Following the academy participants traveled on an HBCU college tour where they visited four Historically Black Colleges and Universities to explore academic programs engage with campus leaders and envision their future in higher education. The group also toured historical and cultural sites that highlight the history and contributions of historically underserved communities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue has grown recently. 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: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 51.8%; rating input score 52
  • Program expense ratio: 58.3%; rating input score 58

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.1%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.13; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -17.7% per year; rating input score 0; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 86.2% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 51.8% of revenue deployed · 58.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: Filed governance answers
  • Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $35K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 7 of 7 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 52/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.