Kingmakers of Oakland

What it reported doing in 2024

FAMILY & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENTIn many schools and educational settings, Black families find a dearth of avenues for engagement, celebration, and authentic partnership in their children's education. KOO intentionally fosters this sort of engagement with Black male students' families to ensure that they have strong networks of support for academic and life success.BLACK TEACHER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTIONKOOs model for Black male teacher recruitment, training, and retention is multipronged. Our Professional Learning Community (PLC) is where we cultivate a brotherhood of MDP facilitators across districts, to foster peer support, skill-development, and a sense of belonging (within educational systems where Black men are significantly underrepresented). But a good deal of work is taking place further upstream, as well. This year KOO made great strides in the areas of recruitment, college partnerships, and frameworks for retaining Black male teachers..CULTURALLY RELEVANT PEDAGOGY & CURRICULUMIn an express effort to counteract the Eurocentric curriculum that pervades American education, KOO delivers curricula that center the experiences, culture, and power of Black people, encouraging educators and students to tap their own transformative power Youth voice & leadershipCentering Black boys means not only making sure that their voices are heard, but that Black youth have a seat at decision-making tables in education. Some recent highlights toward this goal include joining an intergenerational event at The Well in Washington D.C., and KOOs first foray into youth participatory action research.Narrative changeFar too pervasive in American culture are deficit-based narratives that fail to uplift and recognize the inherent beauty and intelligence of Black boys. KOO is flipping that narrative, creating content and platforms that celebrate Black male brilliance. During the past year we have grown tremendously in this area of work, particularly in terms of building capacity and infrastructure for media production.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 82.2%; rating input score 82
• Fundraising efficiency: $5.61 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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: Missing
  • 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 21st 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: -112.3%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.46; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 23.5%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 12.1% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -56.9% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -14.1% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings