Institute for Applied Tinkering

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
264299346
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2010
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4157018700
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,465,010
Expenses
$5,597,329
Assets
$17,529,798
Liabilities
$8,027,741

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Gever Tulley (Founder): $147,294 total reported compensation
  • Anthony Consilio (Asst.HeadofSchool): $136,417 total reported compensation
  • Adrian Skaj Fin Manager (Controller): $136,151 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Institute for Applied Tinkering IAT develops, practices and shares educational methods that challenge and support all children to engage deeply in their learning via real interests and real tools.

What it reported doing in 2024

Tinkering School acts as after school, break, and summer programming to encourage creative capacity, tenacity, and citizenship in youth. Tinkering School is a place where children are given abstract, open-ended building projects and problems. Trained to use the tools required for success, they have the freedom to fail and the time to persevere. Trusted with real tools and real supplies, kids are put in an environment where constraints breed creativity and foster problem-solving that will expand into every area of their lives. Kids learn to trust themselves and their curiosity. They develop new skills and vocabulary, their creativity and their ability to persist.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 73% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 76% for direct work, and 24% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 72
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 31.6%; rating input score 32
  • Program expense ratio: 86.8%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $157.29 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 63.8%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.13; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.3%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 28.1% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 31.6% of revenue deployed · 86.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $4.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.