Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
381348535
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Detroit, MI, USA
Phone
3139622550
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
International Economic Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,831,895
Expenses
$3,062,757
Assets
$6,964,437
Liabilities
$602,814

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

Leadership & pay

44 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JASON LEE (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JASON LEE (PRESIDENT & CEO): $266,316 total reported compensation
  • CINDY BAZNER (SENIOR VP & COO (ENDED 5/25)): $217,523 total reported compensation
  • CRYSTAL SMITH (VP OF PHILANTHROPY): $178,083 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 organization is dedicated to educating students in grades k-12 across southeastern Michigan about entrepreneurship, work readiness, and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. The programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate income and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities. The organization's unique approach allows volunteers from the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their experiences with students. Embodying the heart of the organization, the classroom volunteers transform the key concepts of the lessons into a message that inspires and empowers students to believe in themselves, showing them, they can make a difference in the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Ja finance programs - ja offers personal finance education through programs such as ja finance park, a hands-on simulation for ages 1325 that teaches budgeting and financial decision-making. Jasem's financial literacy programs target the economic inequities faced by youth within our region. Our programs align with state of Michigan education requirements and the recently passed Michigan public act 105 of 2022, which requires a half-credit of financial literacy education before graduation. Investing in financial literacy education early on, "teaches young michiganders important skills like budgeting and saving and helps them make good financial decisions that pay dividends down the road."ja financial literacy, a semester-long course, equips high school students with essential skills in earning, saving, budgeting, banking, credit management, risk assessment, and insurance. Volunteers enhance learning through guest lectures and project advising.ja personal finance helps students understand the link between current financial choices and future financial security, covering topics such as income, budgeting, savings, credit, debt management, consumer protection, and investing. Participants explore key industries and careers while gaining a realistic understanding of economic challenges.

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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 63
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.1%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 74.6%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • 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: 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; 63rd 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: 20.1%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.27; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.7%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.1% of revenue deployed · 74.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 39 of 39 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $266K · 44 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.