Our Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
880745006
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Woodland Hills, CA, USA
Phone
3102706719
Rating
60
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Adult, Continuing Education

Reported finances

Revenue
$936,504
Expenses
$695,212
Assets
$445,780
Liabilities
$14,715

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HILARY L YU (PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • DEVAN MCLAREN (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • HILARY L YU (PRESIDENT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $155,769 total reported compensation
  • DEVAN MCLAREN (VICE PRESIDENT): $103,486 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our Academy is a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation with the mission of supporting BIPOC entrepreneurs who hail form impacted communities. Through our business accelerator, we offer free resources to promote the success of individuals who participate in our programs

What it reported doing in 2024

Our Academy is a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation with the mission of supporting BIPOC entrepreneurs who hail from impacted communities. Through our business accelerator, we offer free one-on-one mentorship programs with experienced executives, live educational programming and online learning content, and resources to promote the success of the individuals who participate in our program.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 84% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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 most filed governance safeguards are in place. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 46
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.1%; rating input score 41
  • Program expense ratio: 55.3%; rating input score 55
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 60%; rating input score 60; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 25.8%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.64; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 37.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -71.5% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 48.8% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 88.7% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 41.1% of revenue deployed · 55.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $385K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $156K · 5 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 18 of 20 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 41/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.