Paths for Success Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
631167317
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2009
Location
Montgomery, AL, USA
Phone
3342440307
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,549,359
Expenses
$1,437,748
Assets
$2,846,549
Liabilities
$2,144

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GREG COCHRAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • PATTY HUGHSTON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • PATTY HUGHSTON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $130,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Paths for success foundation is a non-profit organization designed to assist Alabama citizens in obtaining skills, credentials, and/or certifications that lead to gainful employment. The foundation provides opportunities by eliminating barriers that impact an individual's ability to participate.

What it reported doing in 2025

Provide scholarship funds to state college/univerisity/community colleges/trade schools along with professional development support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 82% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 57
  • Transparency & Controls: 82
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 36.4%; rating input score 36
  • Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $24.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 70.6%; rating input score 71; 24th 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 59.5%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.98; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 38.8% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 32.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 36.4% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $130K · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 10 filed related-organization links
  • 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 36/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.