New Jersey Scholars Elite

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843406869
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022
Location
Princeton, NJ, USA
Phone
9735478600
Rating
89
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Amateur Sports

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$640,915
Expenses
$669,488
Assets
$15,821
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

People named in this filing

  • JAMES RUNCIE (CHAIRPERSON)
  • TODD PERRY (BOARD MEMBER)
  • JOHN MIRENDA (BOARD MEMBER)

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 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

New Jersey scholars exists to help young adults and their families pursue excellence in all facets of their lives by using competitive basketball as a platform. This pursuit of excellence encompasses academics, citizenship and sportsmanship.

What it reported doing in 2022

Basketball academya year-round, comprehensive program for youth participants grades 4-12. The program focuses not only on basketball but academic achievement and support, civic engagement, financial literacy and emotional health programs to help prepare them to succeed and grow to meet their true and desired potential. The New Jersey scholars represent a very unique opportunity to tap into youth basketball at the highest and most visible level possible within New Jersey and beyond. Our teams currently represent five different age groups and will play in an aggregate of more than 400 games in roughly 40 different venues across a dozen states. Our affiliation with nike significantly expands our brand and creates value for our sponsors.nike invited the nj scholars academy into its highly prestigious nike elite basketball league (eybl). It is the most highly regarded amateur development, training and exposure program or "circuit" in the united states. For example, in the 2018 nba draft, 12 of the top 14 nba draft choices were nike eybl alumni. Out of the top 100 ranked amatuer basketball players in the country, approximately 80 of those players will participate in the eybl. Almost all players in the eybl eventually compete as ncaa division i athletes. The nike eybl only allows 35 elite basketball teams in the country to participate in their league and occasionally permits new teams every few years. We are proud of this recognition and will use it to expand our efforts to develop local youth and support, enhance, enlighten and empower the underlying communities that we serve. The nike affiliation, along with our extensive track record, will allow us to better attract and engage participants in our program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 98
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 98.8%; rating input score 99
  • Program expense ratio: 94.6%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,594.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -4.5%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.02; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 41% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 32.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -50.5% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 98.8% of revenue deployed · 94.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $633K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2019 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.