Ncsea Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842971213
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3126494600
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$212,115
Expenses
$235,431
Assets
$343,300
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRIS CERINO (PRESIDENT)
  • JAMI LORENZ (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • RYAN KERSTING (PAST-PRESIDENT)
  • ALFRED SPADA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (VIA PEOS))

People named in this filing

  • CHRIS CERINO (PRESIDENT)
  • JAMI LORENZ (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KEN O'DELL (SECRETARY)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The ncsea foundation supports the nonprofit activities of the national council of structural engineers associations (ncsea) and its member organizations in order to advance the structural engineering profession through techical development, education, and outreach.

What it reported doing in 2024

Advocate to grow awareness of the profession and its contributions to society while supporting structural engineering associations (sea) in enhancing their local communities through developing content aimed at building owners, developers, and architects, as well as the sea grant program designed to assist member sea organizations in growing their associations and promoting the structural engineering field through innovative initiatives.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 89% of its reported program spending out as 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.7%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 89.6%; rating input score 90; 52nd 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: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.46; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 60.7% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 34.4% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 41.3% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.7% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $198K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.