Essential2life Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
582168468
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
7706177370
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Protestant
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$249,619
Expenses
$255,193
Assets
$60,605
Liabilities
$-100

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Darrick Graham (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Darrick Graham (Executive Director): $110,250 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of essential2life is to develop and empower urban students toachieve their full potential and become thriving leaders who positivelyimpact our communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Essential2lifes leadership and life skills development program carries metro atlanta high school students through a 3-year interactive curriculum focusing on core values of character, commitment, service, and life-long learning. Essential2life develops emerging leaders and well-rounded individuals who take ownership of their future and promote social responsibility within their communities. Essential2life helped students achieve a 100% high school graduation rate. 89% went on to college, and 6% to the military.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 60
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.7%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 70.1%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 13th 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: 75%; rating input score 75; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.24; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 43.2%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.7% of revenue deployed · 70.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 12 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $179K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 27 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule G fundraiser detail did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.