National Postsecondary Strategy Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 832012184
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 7735058834
- Rating
- 61
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $557,693
- Expenses
- $597,507
- Assets
- $173,339
- Liabilities
- $33,099
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Greg Darnieder (Board President & Interim)
- Eric Waldo (Vice President)
- Kelly Sparks (Executive Director)
Highest reported compensation
- Kelly Sparks (Executive Director): $201,482 total reported compensation
- Allison Regalado (Partnership Director): $131,223 total reported compensation
- Cristina Mendez (Partnership Director): $124,782 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The advancement of education and lessening the burdens of government by assisting public school districts, charter management organizations, and not-for-profit organizations in developing and implementing college and career readiness strategies to increase the number of students--particularly first-generation, low-income, and minority students--entering and being successful in postsecondary institutions.
What it reported doing in 2024
National Postsecondary Strategy Institute offers national conferences, regional conferences and webinars to support school districts in developing their postsecondary framework and strategies.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 100% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 66
- Accountability: 57
- Sustainability: 18
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 67.6%; rating input score 68
- Program expense ratio: 63.1%; rating input score 63
- Fundraising efficiency: $0 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -7.1%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.29; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 76.6%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 11% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 67.6% of revenue deployed · 63.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $377K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $201K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 1/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.