National College Advising Corps Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

Founded in 2005 with 14 advisers serving 2,500 students in Virginia, cac has since grown into a national organization. To date, we estimate that more than one million students at schools served by a cac adviser have enrolled in a two or four year college. Early investment in virtual advising (2015), hybrid advising (2019), and chatbot-powered advising (2020) strengthened our ability to deliver flexible, integrated advising models that meet the diverse needs of students and schools.cac's approach differs from that of other large college access organizations. Rather than focusing solely on small cohorts of top-performing, college-bound students, cac provides comprehensive, whole-school advising for every senior and their families. Our "best match/best fit" model helps students explore a range of pathways including both college and direct-to-career options and, for those pursuing higher education, identify institutions that represent strong academic, financial, social, and cultural fits.approximately 90% of seniors served by cac graduate from high school on time, and more than half enroll in college in the fall immediately after graduation. Enrollment is evenly divided between two and four year institutions. Within five years of graduation, an additional 78% of cac-served students pursue college enrollment, most at two year institutions.during the 2024-2025 academic year, cac partnered with 30 program partners in 14 states to recruit, train, and place 768 advisers in 732 high schools. Collectively, cac advisers supported approximately 250,000 students in grades 9-12, primarily seniors (210,000+). Advisers held over 500,000 individualized (one-on-one) meetings with seniors alone, and their presence and activities in schools foster a college-going culture that reaches an estimated 800,000 students each year.among students served, roughly two-thirds qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, more than 40% are hispanic. About 40% of cac-served schools are in urban areas, another 40% are in suburbs, and the remainder are in rural communities.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 89.7%; rating input score 90
• Fundraising efficiency: $38.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 14th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
  • Written employment contract: Pass
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 99.6%; rating input score 100; 34th 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • 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: Fail
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -46.3%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings