The IDEA Fund

Legal name: Idea Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
481242031
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Manhattan, KS, USA
Phone
7853202400
Rating
51
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$112,799
Expenses
$34,214
Assets
$2,531,174
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KENNETH RYALLS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KENNETH RYALLS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $25,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The IDEA Fund continues as nonprofit focusing solely on creating opportunities for innovation in teaching and learning through grantmaking, supporting industry research, and making other timely investments directly impacting teaching and learning.

What it reported doing in 2024

Idea research grants - provides financial support for practitioners engaged in the expansion of teaching and learning through giving and grantmaking to fund various programs such as idea impact grants, the fund for idea-priority projects, research & papers and fundable projects for colleges and universities.`

Operating model

Revenue model
Investment-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from recurring investment income.
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 revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 19
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 57
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 11.7%; rating input score 12
  • Program expense ratio: 36.5%; rating input score 37
  • 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: 80%; rating input score 80; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 69.7%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 73.98; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 73.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -22.8% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -13.5% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 11.7% of revenue deployed · 36.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $25K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 12/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.