New Urban Learning

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383502936
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Detroit, MI, USA
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,909,409
Expenses
$5,087,545
Assets
$355,984
Liabilities
$290,247

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LESLE REDWINE (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LESLE REDWINE (CEO): $187,461 total reported compensation
  • CARL SMITH (CFO): $73,147 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Prepare all children, specially the urban poor, to succeed educationally and economically.

What it reported doing in 2014

Activites relate to the operation of University YES Academy which was created to transform the City of Detroit by exposing students to rigorous curriculum that will ultimately prepare them to be successful in college and beyond.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 68
  • Sustainability: 17
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86%; rating input score 86
  • Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 78.6%; rating input score 79; 0th 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; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.6%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.07; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.82; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.4% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -35.3% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -34.4% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86% of revenue deployed · 83% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $187K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 27 current checks pass · 3 findings to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2009 to 2014
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX OtherSalariesAndWages column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.