Next Generation Scholars Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261110584
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Rafael, CA, USA
Phone
4152590900
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,962,268
Expenses
$1,896,496
Assets
$4,891,991
Liabilities
$566,656

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Nghiem Bui (Executive Dir.): $171,780 total reported compensation
  • Shawn A Cole (Dir. of Program): $123,065 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Next Generation Scholars equips and empowers first generation, under-resourced Marin County middle and high school students to succeed in college and beyond through socially-conscious leadership development. Grounded in individualized academic and social support for them and their families, our students are emboldened to address the inequities in the world, both for themselves and for their communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

NGS students and families are recent immigrants and first-generation college-bound students. The organization actively creates more pathways to closing the local educational equity and opportunity gap. We show families that a path to higher education is within their childrens reach. NGS students are Marin residents from across the county, many living in the Canal area of San Rafael, Novato, and subsidized public housing throughout the county. According to Federal and County guidelines, 100% of the population is first-generation, and 97% is under-resourced from low-income families. We support over 210 students and their families annually, with current enrollment of 60 in K-5th, 51 in 6th-8th, 49 in high school, and 51 currently in college. NGS students and their families are motivated, resilient, and academically driven; they must be. NGS requires weekly, Sunday, and over-the-summer attendance and teaches college and career readiness curriculum. 43% of NGS alumni are pursuing advanced degrees, 92% of recent graduates are employed, 56% in the nonprofit/educational sector, and 36% in the private sector.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 90% 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.

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: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th 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: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 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: 3.4%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.58; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30.3% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.2% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $172K · 9 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.