Pathways in Education Illinois

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203681896
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pasadena, CA, USA
Phone
6266833500
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,066,604
Expenses
$21,995,171
Assets
$14,875,507
Liabilities
$4,805,144

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAMIE DONAHUE (PRESIDENT)
  • JOAN HALL (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN HALL SR (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • WENDY GILLESPIE (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF SCHOOLS (PIE)): $207,632 total reported compensation
  • LISA SCHWARTZ (DIRECTOR OF DISTRICT RELATIONS): $197,590 total reported compensation
  • MATTHEW WIENCLAWSKI (PRINCIPAL): $179,992 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 provide alternative education solutions for at-risk and disenfranchised youth.

What it reported doing in 2024

Chicago contract school and alternative learning opportunity programs. The school served average 1,121 students per month during the 2024-2025 year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 99% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15.4%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.68; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 90.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $19.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $208K · 11 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.