Just-a-start Corporation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237121174
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cambridge, MA, USA
Phone
6174940444
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Community, Neighborhood Development

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,255,008
Expenses
$12,808,967
Assets
$82,535,842
Liabilities
$64,324,993

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CARL NAGY-KOECHLIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CARL NAGY-KOECHLIN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $205,735 total reported compensation
  • NOAH SAWYER (DIRECTOR OF REAL ESTATE): $178,340 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT BRAININ (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & ADMIN): $170,705 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote equity by creating access to stable housing and building pathways to economic opportunity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Education and training - just a start's education and training programs provide tuition-free pathways to careers in the region's growing employment sectors. Our adult career training program is an intensive, nine-month education and training program for adults with low incomes to develop the knowledge and critical problem-solving skills needed to enter family-sustaining and fulfilling careers in the growing biomedical and information technology (it) fields. Approximately 85% of graduates of the program gain employment within 6-12 months of graduation and increase their annual income by an average of $20,000. Another pillar of just a start's education and training programs is youthbuild, which annually provides comprehensive youth development services to approximately 50 out-of-school youth between the ages of 16 and 24. Students receive education and training that leads to a high school credential, construction or retail industry credentials, career exploration, and employment.

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 84% 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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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: 98.8%; rating input score 99; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: -24.9%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.44; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.5%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $10.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $206K · 28 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $675K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 30 filed related-organization links
  • 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 36/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.