Junior State of America

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
946050452
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Reston, VA, USA
Phone
7034379720
Rating
67
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development – Citizenship

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,337,171
Expenses
$4,166,814
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • VIVIAN TSAI (PRESIDENT)
  • BETH FREEMAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JODI WISELEY (CEO)
  • RACHEL KAGANOFF STERN (PRIOR CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JODI WISELEY (CEO): $178,343 total reported compensation
  • TYLER MORNINGSTAR (DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT): $130,055 total reported compensation
  • RACHEL KAGANOFF STERN (PRIOR CEO): $110,256 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Junior state of america (jsa) prepared a diverse community of america's high school students to participate in our democracy. Jsa empowered students to engage in politics, citizenship and civic life outside the boundaries of the classroom.

What it reported doing in 2023

Summer programs were held at george Washington university and stanford university during the summer of 2024. Jsa conducted programs consistent with its long history of teaching about civic engagement, politics and citizenship. Other programs were held in the 9 federal regions of the united states as well in freely associated states and territories.

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 94% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 74.8%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.9%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.1% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -26.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.9% of revenue deployed · 74.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 16 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2018 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization is recorded as not currently operating in California.