Institute for Sport and Social Justice

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475127394
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Oviedo, FL, USA
Phone
6172836733
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,554,556
Expenses
$1,678,292
Assets
$478,007
Liabilities
$18,615

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR JEFF O'BRIEN (CEO-SECRETARY & TREASURER)
  • DR RICHARD LAPCHICK (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JEFF O'BRIEN (CEO-SECRETARY & TREASURER): $255,936 total reported compensation
  • ASHLEIGH HUFFMAN (VP of Global Relations): $252,000 total reported compensation
  • WHITNEY E TARVER (VP, P'SHIP & DEV THRU 3/2025): $159,231 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Use the power of sport to effect positive social change. We educate and empower individuals and orgznizations by inspiring values-based thinking leading to actions that promote social responsibility and equality.

What it reported doing in 2024

Huddle-Up (HU) is a leadership-infused educational program that utilizes active learning strategies to maximize interactive dialogue and enhance participant learning. HU is subdivided in three key areas: 1. HU to Prevent Gender Based Violence focuses on preventing all forms of men's violence against women, and addresses the full continuum of abusive behaviors and empowering participants to understand how misogynistic language, sexual harassment, gendered bullying, sexual assault, rape and domestic violence are linked together. It is a multi-racial mixed gender program that introduces and develops the bystander approach to violence prevention. 2. HU for Diversity Equity and Inclusion focuses on building community and building trust, embracing vulnerability as a leadership skill, discusses the power of language, the power of symbolism, unconscious bias and allyship, equality vs equity and empowers participants to understand how privilege, bias, discrimination and stereotypes can create an unwelcome environment. This program seeks to engage, empower, and equip organizations to rise to the social justice moment, inspiring leadership, increasing trust, and elevating the culture of the organization. 3. HU for Leadership Development educates and empowers student-athletes, coaches and athletics administrators through transformative experiences that develop strong, effective leaders, cultivate an inclusive community and enhance the college sports landscape.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 75
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.1%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 71%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -8%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 48.4%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.1% of revenue deployed · 71% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 18 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $256K · 22 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $375K reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 10/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.