National Center for Grow Your Own

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
873710216
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Plymouth, MI, USA
Phone
7349686241
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Management & Technical Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,922,825
Expenses
$1,797,622
Assets
$8,280,123
Liabilities
$338,814

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David Donaldson (CEO and Founder)

Highest reported compensation

  • David Donaldson (CEO and Founder): $309,977 total reported compensation
  • Carla Warren (Senior Partner): $144,951 total reported compensation
  • Ben Gagne-Maynard (Senior Partner): $135,492 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

NCGYOs mission is to create a world where one can become an educator for free while getting paid to do so, primarily via Grow Your Own and Registered Apprenticeship programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

NCGYO provides technical assistance and professional learning networks to state education agencies (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) in partnership with institutes of higher education (IHEs) or Educator Preparation Programs (EPPs) as they launch or expand Grow your Own and/or Registered Apprenticeship programs in the K-12 education sector. We also serve as a thought-leader in the space, advancing the apprenticeship model as the gold standard of teacher preparation through such activities as speaking at conferences, serving on government-sponsored committees, testifying to legislatures, and speaking on webinars.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 62% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most filed governance safeguards are in place. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 77
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 34.1%; rating input score 34
  • Program expense ratio: 75.9%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $531.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th 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: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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: 40%; rating input score 40; 7th 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: 54.2%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.61; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 39.6%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 52.7% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 35.4% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 51.7% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 34.1% of revenue deployed · 75.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $310K · 7 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 34/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.