Fly Compton Aeronautical Education Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853136532
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2021
Location
Compton, CA, USA
Phone
9729222641
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,040,836
Expenses
$1,028,189
Assets
$383,480
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Demetrius Harris thru Dec'25 (President & CEO)
  • Alex Barker (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Demetrius Harris thru Dec'25 (President & CEO): $74,500 total reported compensation
  • Carla Norman (Director): $43,334 total reported compensation
  • Alex Barker (Vice President): $37,368 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of Fly Compton Foundation is to EXPOSE youth to the full ecosystem of aviation and aerospaceincluding piloting, aircraft maintenance, engineering, coding, robotics, airport operations, design, and leadership. EDUCATE students through immersive training and real-world application, equipping them with tangible skills, industry-recognized certifications, and workforce readiness. ELEVATE students into careers with confidence, credentials, and competitive advantage through mentorship, apprenticeships, and long-standing industry partnerships.

What it reported doing in 2025

Zero to Solo Fly Compton Foundation offers a comprehensive aviation and STEM pipeline beginning with Zero to Solo, which introduces students as young as 8 years old to aviation fundamentals through ground instruction, simulation, and in-air training, preparing them to pass the FAA Written Examination and advance to Solo Camp. Solo Camp is a free, intensive capstone for participants at least 16 years of age who have passed the FAA Written Examination, culminating in a supervised first solo flight. Students then progress to Solo to Private, a program fully funded by Fly Compton Foundation, where they complete FAA requirements and prepare for their check ride to earn a Private Pilot Certificate. In addition, the organization offers hands-on technical and STEM programming through the Torqued Up Aircraft Maintenance & Engineering Workshop, which provides training in aircraft systems, maintenance, safety, and engineering fundamentals, and Fly High SkyLab, an immersive lab focused on robotics, coding, aerodynamics, and engineering, building workforce readiness through project-based learning and mentorship.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 77% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 80
  • Accountability: 60
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 69%; rating input score 69
  • Program expense ratio: 69.8%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $12.19 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 62.6%; rating input score 63; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 62.5%; rating input score 62; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.2%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.5%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 38.3% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 40.5% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 69% of revenue deployed · 69.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $718K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $74K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.