National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521190664
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Alexandria, VA, USA
Phone
7038794010
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Minority Rights

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,264,632
Expenses
$4,970,330
Assets
$23,507,894
Liabilities
$6,264,060

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

29 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHELE LEZAMA (PRESIDENT & CEO (END 12/2024))
  • BRENNON MARCANO (PRESIDENT & CEO (FROM 01/2025))

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHELE LEZAMA (PRESIDENT & CEO (END 12/2024)): $429,946 total reported compensation
  • CARMEN SIDBURY (SENIOR DIRECTOR, RESEARCH): $213,023 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTOPHER GREAVES (SR. DIRECTOR, DEVT. & EXTERNAL): $199,865 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to prepare undergraduate students for success in stem through skills-based training and targeted support empowering the next generation to drive innovation, solve global challenges, and shape the future for all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Scholarship programs: nacme administers one of the nation's largest privately funded scholarship portfolios dedicated to cultivating the next generation of engineering and technology talent. The programs are structured to recognize and reward strong academic performance, persistence, and demonstrated potential for excellence in rigorous technical disciplines. Through these scholarships, nacme connects corporate partners with a highly capable pipeline of engineering and computer science students who are prepared to contribute to innovation and industry advancement. The initiatives are designed to elevate academic success, support degree completion, and strengthen career readiness while reinforcing a culture of high expectations and achievement on campus. Scholarships provide financial assistance to scholars, complemented by a comprehensive suite of academic, leadership, and professional development resources. In addition, nacme's searchlight career center serves as a talent gateway, featuring profiles of scholars who are actively pursuing internships and early-career opportunities in engineering and technology fields.nacme strengthens pathways from academic achievement to careers by connecting scholars with internships, co-ops, and full-time opportunities across engineering and technology sectors. Through sustained engagement with corporate partners, nacme supports workforce readiness while providing employers access to a high-performing, career-ready talent pipeline.information dissemination: nacme conducts marketing, communications, and outreach activities to inform and engage key stakeholders, including universities, corporate partners, public sector entities, and philanthropic organizations. The organization uses digital platforms, publications, convenings, and multimedia channels to share information about programs, outcomes, and effective practices related to engineering and technology education.these activities support awareness of nacme's scholarship programs, career readiness initiatives, and research efforts, and provide data-informed resources that assist stakeholders in strengthening talent development and workforce initiatives.research and program evaluation: nacme conducts rigorous research and evaluation to ensure its programs deliver measurable impact and remain aligned with workforce needs. Through data analytics, external evaluations, and stakeholder convenings, nacme identifies the factors that drive persistence, degree attainment, and career success in technical fields. Insights inform continuous improvement across scholarships, accelerator experiences, and career readiness initiatives. Findings are shared through studies, briefs, impact reports, and dashboards to support effective practice, institutional innovation, and workforce strategy.engineering public policy: nacme engages in public policy and stakeholder education activities to inform discussions related to engineering and technology education and workforce development. The organization convenes stakeholders and develops policy briefs, reports, and related materials that examine issues such as degree attainment, affordability, workforce readiness, and institutional capacity. These activities provide research-based insights and recommendations to educators, employers, and policymakers and support efforts to strengthen pathways to engineering and technology careers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 40% for direct work, and 60% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 66.8%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • 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: 52.9%; rating input score 53; 16th 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; 63rd 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: -52.2%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.73; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.3%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 66.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $430K · 29 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $514K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 33 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 26 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 37/100.