Entrepeneurship Award Corp
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 811043590
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 2124019333
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $325,210
- Expenses
- $355,279
- Assets
- $353,963
- Liabilities
- $452,790
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LISA-MARIE PIERRE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
- CHRISPTOPHER UPPERMAN (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- LISA-MARIE PIERRE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $112,598 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Founder forward works with underrepresented founders to build a community and platform that advances equity and access in the entrepreneurship environment. Its efforts are currently focused on serving black, indigenous, latinx, and (continued on schedule o)female founders. Founder forward strives to contribute to rebuilding and reshaping the entrepreneurship landscape into one that reflects the wealth of diversity that is the cornerstone of america's identity. Our efforts are centered around community, equity, and uplifting voices that have been left out.
What it reported doing in 2024
In 2024, founder forward distributed funding to its 125th founder since 2016 and directly supported 13 early-stage businesses with over $59,000 in capital grants. We launched new programming called pitchprov which had over 30 attendees who participated in the activation at a former grantees caf in brooklyn, New York (ginjan). In 2024, founder forward also participated in conferences as a thought leader discussing economic empowerment through entrepreneurship.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 83% 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. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 84
- Sustainability: 24
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 98.6%; rating input score 99
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 34.7%; rating input score 35; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -9.2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.28; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 31.7%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -8.2% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 98.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $350K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $113K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 4 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.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 35/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.