Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237330119
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2023
- Forms available
- Form 990 2023
- Location
- Troy, NY, USA
- Phone
- 5182444650
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Remedial Reading, Reading Encouragement
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $328,220
- Expenses
- $311,376
- Assets
- $197,524
- Liabilities
- $46,613
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JACK MAHONEY (PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- NANA ADOMA (DIRECTOR)
- MARIE ALLEN CAMPBELL (TREASURER)
- LAURA FOSS (SECRETARY)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We teach people to read, write and speak english. We empower our students to be advocates for themselves and we educate the larger community about literacy issues.
What it reported doing in 2023
To provide tutoring in reading, writing, and english language to individuals and small groups for approximately 2 hours per week per student. Other services include 4 to 6 hours per week of esol instruction; 300 hours of instruction in english literacy civics; 300 hours in els, sewing and workplace skills; 100 hours of instruction in els and workplace literacy skills at work sites; 30 minute sessions of volunteers with children are performed each week. Mentors from business meet weekly with elementary school children as positive reading role models. Volunteers assist english language learning students via phone for 30 minute sessions weekly.
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 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 84.8%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 89.4%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $14.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 50; 50th 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: 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: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 5.1%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.63; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 84.8% of revenue deployed · 89.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $278K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2023
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 50/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.