Institute for Student Achievement Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
112995109
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2012
Forms available
Form 990 2012
Location
Carle Place, NY, USA
Phone
5168126700
Rating confidence
Limited
Sector
Children's, Youth Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,740,727
Expenses
$3,704,178
Assets
$3,831,660
Liabilities
$108,405

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2012. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2012. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Isa's mission is to help transform public high schools so that students who are traditionally underserved and underperforming graduate prepared for success in college.

What it reported doing in 2012

Small schools/learning communities: isa is a leading school redesign partner that facilitates the transformation of high schools into small learning communities and small schools designed to prepare all students for college. Isa partners with school administrators and teachers to create and sustain intellectually rigorous, caring, and personalized learning environments. Isa collaborates with schools to create comprehensive plans and implementation strategies for school redesign that are customized to meet the unique needs of schools and districts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

- The available evidence is not sufficient to produce an overall rating for this filing. This is not a warning sign.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: NotEnoughData
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: Limited
  • Program expense ratio: Limited
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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; 64th 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: -112.8%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.03; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 44.1%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: -42.9% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -35.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: Financial trends and filed revenue, expense, asset, and liability detail
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $443K · 24 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2009 to 2012
  • 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.