National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering & Science

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
310898802
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Alexandria, VA, USA
Phone
7035623646
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,121,839
Expenses
$10,856,687
Assets
$24,826,946
Liabilities
$17,051,965

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BRENNON MARCANO (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • BRENNON MARCANO (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $401,849 total reported compensation
  • MARCUS HUGGANS (EXECUTIVE DIR. OF CLIENT RELATIONS): $213,314 total reported compensation
  • JAMIE D HICKS (SENIOR MANAGER, ACCOUNTING): $108,134 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Gem invests in america's workforce by recruiting students looking to pursue master's and doctoral degrees in applied science and engineering, and matches their specific skills to the specific technical needs of gem employer partners.

What it reported doing in 2024

To advance domestic scientific impact by encouraging all students to pursue master's and doctoral degrees in applied science and engineering.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 65% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 66% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.7%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 83.1%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 25th 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.3%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.29; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.69; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.7% of revenue deployed · 83.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 13 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $402K · 19 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $534K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.