Girls 4 Science

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270147595
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7734016685
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$280,032
Expenses
$348,338
Assets
$197,370
Liabilities
$96

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JACKIE LOMAX (EXECUTIVE DIR/SECRETARY): $70,651 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Girls 4 science is a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing girls in chicago ages 10-18 years old to science, technology, engineering, and math. We focus on developing skills, self-esteem, awareness, and relationships to help girls overcome barriers that may prevent them from achieving greater success in these fields.

What it reported doing in 2025

Educational science programs - during the 2025 program there were 4 stem programs. The winter program focused on food chemistry and the career opportunities in the food industry along with farm to table activities. The spring module focused on environmental science with a focus on solar power and recycling and sustainability.the summer module we studied manufacturing and its impact on our lives and animal life. We created bird houses, and learned about manufacturing consumer products and goods.the fall program we studied horticulture. We learned about the seasons of plants and we created our own herb gardens and vegetables.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 85
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.6%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -24.4%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.57; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.3%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.6% of revenue deployed · 71.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $251K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $71K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2021 to 2025
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.