Focused on Growth Academy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 884284525
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Berkeley, CA, USA
- Phone
- 4159120394
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Children's, Youth Services
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $525,124
- Expenses
- $385,585
- Assets
- $139,539
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Nikolaus Hufnagel (Founder, Executive Director)
People named in this filing
- Nikolaus Hufnagel (Founder, Executive Director)
- LaShante Boyd (Board Secretary)
- Brian Legaspi (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. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of Focused on Growth Academy is to support misguided youth to overcome systemic barriers and achieve independence. Through programs centered on personal development, mental and physical wellness, substance abuse recovery, career preparation, and community engagement, we strive to equip youth with the tools they need to lead resilient and fulfilling lives.
What it reported doing in 2025
Seed Soul Soil is an innovative vocational rehabilitation and art program focused on furniture upcycling and sustainability education. Scholars are taught the technical skills of making the old look new again by refurbishing donated furniture into functional art. This program teaches resourcefulness, craftsmanship, and entrepreneurial thinking. In 2025, the program provided hands-on workshops that allowed scholars to transform discarded items into community assets, fostering a sense of accomplishment, patience, and tangible skill-building that prepares them for the workforce.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 87% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- 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.
- 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filed totals do not add up.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 73%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 99.5%; rating input score 99
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 7th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 26.6%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.36; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 73% of revenue deployed · 99.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $383K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 40 of 41 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.