Level Up Cincinnati

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
880931411
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Madeira, OH, USA
Phone
5135492779
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$619,865
Expenses
$439,049
Assets
$604,561
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jim Rodarte (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jim Rodarte (Executive Director): $86,250 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

LUC's mission is to empower underserved students, particularly first-gen students from low-income families, to thrive in education and professional careers. The program addresses critical challenges faced by these students, such as higher dropout rates and limited access to resources. LUC's holistic approach cultivates personal and professional growth, nurturing leaders who strengthen the Cincinnati community and contribute to a more prosperous future.

What it reported doing in 2025

Students who participate in Level Up Cincinnati, enroll in a four-year program. During which, they are paired with two coaches. Their first coach, a Transition Coach, is a former first-generation student that helps with the transition from high school to college. The curriculum during this time is focused on college readiness, time management skills, self-evaluation, and choosing a career path. The student's second coach, a Career Coach, is assigned before their junior year of college. As most students have identified and solidified their major or areas of interest at this time, they are paired with a coach in their field of study. Coaches are tasked with aiding in the transition from college to career, sharing their network, experience in the industry, and connecting students to the business community. The curriculum during this phase is focused on professional development, financial literacy, networking skills and mental wellness.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 48% for direct work, and 52% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.7%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 87.9%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $83.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 78th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 29.2%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.38; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.6%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 27.9% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 50.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.7% of revenue deployed · 87.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $386K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $86K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.