In Your Hands Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300079538
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Mountain View, CA, USA
Rating
51
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,817,814
Expenses
$2,779,160
Assets
$2,467,322
Liabilities
$24,074

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRIS KECK (President & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LISA O'HEARN (Secretary): $154,800 total reported compensation
  • DYLAN RICH (TEACHER): $116,340 total reported compensation
  • CHRIS KECK (President & CEO): $66,000 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 exempt purpose of this corporation is to further the education and training of young people in a manner consistent with a certified curriculum.

What it reported doing in 2024

In Your Hands DBA Palo Alto Preparatory School is a unique, private, college prep high school designed to cultivate student success. Small class sizes, experiential education, and emotional/physical safety, shape the school. As needed, the necessary resources to support the LD student community are incorporated into the curriculum to foster the growth of well-rounded individuals. With a 100% high school graduation rate, reports have shown that Palo Alto Preparatory has achieved a 93% college graduation rate once students graduate from Palo Alto Prep. Our current seniors, Class of 2024, are attending the following colleges: Mills College, Oregon State University, San Francisco State, University of Washington , Cal State Sonoma, University of Denver, University of Colorado Boulder Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and St Marys College, as well as many local community colleges. This past year we received the highest certification from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Our college prep academics continue to provide an environment for not only high achievers but also students with learning differences in an environment where all students are provided the teaching and supports for their growth and success.Our introduction to aviation program continues to be a huge success as we now have over a dozen licensed pilots and instructors. Some of our students have also found careers in the bay area building aircraft for use in youth in aviation at our local airport. With the shortage of airport controllers and other opportunities in the aviation industry, our program continues to be a very successful course incorporating our students science, physics, and math curriculam.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program 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.

The verdict

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 24
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.9%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 59.1%; rating input score 59
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 11
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.89; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.1%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.9% of revenue deployed · 59.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 1 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $155K · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.