Life Skills High School of Cleveland

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
455281365
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2016
Forms available
Form 990 2016
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone
3305356868
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$990,196
Expenses
$987,836
Assets
$227,920
Liabilities
$1,093,404

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEPHEN MARCHEWITZ (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KIM HENRY (SECRETARY): $750 total reported compensation
  • CYNTHIA WESTON (BOARD MEMBER): $750 total reported compensation
  • STEPHEN MARCHEWITZ (PRESIDENT): $500 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2016. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide an alternative high school opportunity for at-risk and drop-out youth bewtween the ages of 16 and 21. The school provides a comprehensive education, life skills, work training and employment

What it reported doing in 2016

Provided educational services to 97 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.2%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 93.5%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.23; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 4.8; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -7.8% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -6.9% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 38.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.2% of revenue deployed · 93.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $923K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $750 · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $929K reported
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2013 to 2016
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 38/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.