Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership

Legal name: Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
043660900
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Newark, NJ, USA
Phone
973.353.0611
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,456,118
Expenses
$3,557,600
Assets
$3,071,050
Liabilities
$1,024,363

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JILL JOHNSON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • JEREMEE JOHNSON (VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING)
  • STEPHANIE FOWLER (PRESIDENT, CAPITAL ACCESS)

Highest reported compensation

  • STEPHANIE FOWLER (PRESIDENT, CAPITAL ACCESS): $236,325 total reported compensation
  • JILL JOHNSON (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $230,769 total reported compensation
  • JEREMEE JOHNSON (VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING): $112,320 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to empower champions, mobilize allies, and activate investors to use their relationships and other resources to foster a more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem.

What it reported doing in 2024

Relationship capital connections - access and opportunity are directly correlated to the strength of relationship connectivity. Our work through conscious collisions programs facilitates relationships between people whose paths would not have otherwise crossed. Our small businesses need us programming creates connectivity between business professionals and under-resourced small business owners through skills-based volunteerism. The objective of the program focus area is to create more relationship connections that build bridges and break down barriers. Learn more at creatingconsciouscollisions.org and smallbusinessesneedus.org

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 93% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.4%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 61.6%; rating input score 62
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.9%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.86; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.33; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.3%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 32.4% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.5% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 34.7% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 63.4% of revenue deployed · 61.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $236K · 9 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.