Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America

What it reported doing in 2024

Leda scholars programsummer institute: in fy2025, the leda summer institute continued to build on the expansion established in the previous year by hosted scholars on two campuses. For fy2025, scholars spent three weeks in residence at princeton university and two weeks in residence at yale university. Leda worked in close partnership with both princeton and yale staff to ensure that our scholars would be able to transition campuses with the least disruption possible, and feedback from prior cohorts indicated that both the transition and theopportunity to experience two campuses were an overwhelmingly positive experience. Leda staff also adapted the five-week summer institute curriculum to accommodate the change in venue for the final two weeks of the program.one of the primary assessment tools for the aspects of leadership summer institute is a survey conducted at the end of the program. The survey administered during the grant period shows improvement across nearly all categories; in the context of a reduction in program time due to the campus transition, these results suggest that curriculum updates have been effective. The survey indicated that 100% of scholars are confidentthat leda's programming will help them have a greater positive impact on their communities. 99% also confirmed that leda classes improved their writing skills, and 90% further agreed that leda helped them better understand the academic expectations at selective colleges. 100% stated that leda's college guidance services had expanded their knowledge of the institutions and opportunities available to them. Additionally, 99% of scholars would recommend leda to other students, and 100% of scholars felt fully heard and supported by leda staff throughout the summer.recruitment & admissions: our recruitment & admissions team launched the 2024-2025 leda application inseptember 2024 and built on the robust virtual outreach network it had put into place over the past several years. Ultimately, this led to 1,361 complete applications by the end of the recruitment phase in mid-december.cohort 21 scholars come from 36 u.s. States and territories. 80% of them will be first-generation college students. 60% identify as female and 40% as male. Cohort 21's households have an average income of $$39,575.43, and speak a total of 29 distinct languages. 10% of cohort 21 applicants come from rural communities.college guidance: in the fall of 2024, the college guidance team began supporting scholars during the most active phase of the college application process, building on the skills and content knowledge that leda cohort 20 developed during the 2024 aspects of leadership summer institute. Scholars submitted 177 early decision or early action applications. Some of the most highly represented colleges include yale (15 early applicants), usc (13 early applicants) and stanford (10 applicants). Ultimately, 61% of cohort 20 was admitted to at least one ivy-+ university. This is an increase of 5% over our rates for the past several years. 87% were admitted to at least one top 60 university. Additionally, our yale partnership has had an incredible impact: among cohort 20 scholars, we had 61 leda scholars apply to yale (nearly twice as many as in the previous year), and we had 37 scholars accepted. This represents a 61% admit rate. 27 leda scholars from cohort 20 ultimately matriculated at yale.after consulting with the college guidance team to evaluate their academic and financial aid options, 100% of cohort 20 matriculated at a college that they determined would best fit their needs.college success: during the reporting period, leda's college success staff conducted regular check-ins with undergraduate scholars, completing 434 meetings during the academic year. 87% of new first-year students opted into the leda peer mentor program for additional support. These students were paired with older leda students, with an emphasis placed on providing one mentee per mentor and pairing stude

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 52.4%; rating input score 52
• Program expense ratio: 69.9%; rating input score 70
• Fundraising efficiency: $7.62 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th 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: 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: Limited
• 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: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: 25.1%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.95; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 17.7%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings