Federal Student Scholarship Organization

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262903667
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Cumming, GA, USA
Phone
6789470238
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,230,876
Expenses
$12,699,049
Assets
$5,612,063
Liabilities
$388,049

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAVID B NEYER (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAVID B NEYER (PRESIDENT & CEO): $242,643 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT J JASION (TRUSTEE): $2,000 total reported compensation
  • FULTON LEWIS (TRUSTEE): $2,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Georgia student scholarship organization (sso) inc., is a nonprofit Georgia corporation dedicated to offering students from low and middle income family opportunities to attend private schools of their parents' choice .

What it reported doing in 2025

The organization is dedicated to offering students from low and middle income family opportunities to attend private schools of their parents' choice. During 2025, the organization awarded 3,803 scholarships to eligible students attending 102 private schools.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 95% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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: 99
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.5%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: $472.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.8% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.3% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $243K · 4 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.