Pathway to Adventure Council Inc Boy Scouts of America

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475066720
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
3124218800
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,260,795
Expenses
$7,201,554
Assets
$19,902,780
Liabilities
$1,034,792

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • STEPHEN SCHWAB (PRESIDENT)
  • JEFF ISAAC (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEFF ISAAC (CEO): $435,641 total reported compensation
  • MAUREEN ELROY (EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT & OFFICE MANAGER): $164,910 total reported compensation
  • LYNETTE SARTHER (CONTROLLER): $157,722 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote character and build citizenship and physical fitness among youth within its designated geographical area, consisting of portions of Illinois and Indiana.

What it reported doing in 2024

Pathway to adventure council administers the boy scouts of america program through community-based organizations in chicagoland and northwest Indiana. 13,645 young people participated in programs dedicated to character development, leadership development, citizenship training, and personal fitness. 5,200 adults volunteered to deliver these programs. The council operates three unique programs in addition to its core(traditional) scouting program. These are restoring the village (rtv), stem scouting, and soccer in scouting. These programs are designed to deliver the same outcomes as other scouting programs through unique methods in communities that are traditionally underserved. 2,798 young people participated.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.9%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.76; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.4% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $436K · 26 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $925K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.