I Am Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861297592
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Holland, MI, USA
Phone
6166357574
Rating
49
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$272,508
Expenses
$268,648
Assets
$20,447
Liabilities
$1,019

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • HENRY CHERRY (DIRECTOR): $48,808 total reported compensation
  • LAUREN BECK (OPERATION DIRECTOR): $36,943 total reported compensation
  • LINDSAY CHERRY (DIRECTOR): $12,750 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Mentorship program in conjunction with community partners, for the purpose of helping to dismatle the school to prison pipeline systems within educational institutions. Support and encourage local students by providing opportunities for job experiences, college visits dialogue sessions, book studies, an entrepreneurship program, mindful experiences, and potential group trips to cultural places of interest.

What it reported doing in 2024

Events put on to better engage the community to achive positive relationships and to educate eachother on matters of culture and acceptance.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% 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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 31
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 23
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 34.2%; rating input score 34
  • Program expense ratio: 34.7%; rating input score 35
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th 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: 1.4%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.08; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 40%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.5% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -17.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 34.2% of revenue deployed · 34.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $93K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $49K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 35/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 5/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 43/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.