Pencil Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223384302
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2125242386
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Philanthropy, Voluntarism, and Grantmaking Foundations N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,636,899
Expenses
$3,354,872
Assets
$2,096,911
Liabilities
$313,850

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GREGG B BETHEIL (CEO)
  • JESSICA BYNOE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • GREGG B BETHEIL (CEO): $264,648 total reported compensation
  • JESSICA BYNOE (PRESIDENT): $243,948 total reported compensation
  • ANGELIE SINGLA (VP OF GROWTH): $166,353 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

New York city schools are filled with students who have potential and ambition to go far and we envision a city filled with students whose opportunities match their ambitions. Since 1995, we've played a critical role in bringing together business professionals, educators and students to open eyes, open minds, and open doors. By doing so, we connect students to success.

What it reported doing in 2024

Through its school-based partnership programs, pencil served 1,048 students across 39 nyc public schools. These programs leverage the talents and resources of nyc's business community to improve students' college and career readiness. 86% of students saw an increase in one or more of pencil's "keys to success." 99% of students agreed that pencil helped them develop the skills essential for their growth and success. Pencil provided 669 students college and career training through its internship programs. Pencil placed 422 students in six-week remote or in-person internships at over 100 businesses across New York city. Pencil provided 50 additional students with paid work-based experiences through its career explorers program. Participants earned approximately $1.2m during these summer experiences. Pencil hosted principal for a day on may 9th, 2024. These events created space for principals and business executives to discuss the ongoing challenges and opportunities in their schools. Over 144 executives connected with 135 schools, supporting an estimated 563 teachers and 4,871 students. Pencil also supported six schools as part of nyc public schools' future ready nyc initiative. These coachings supported principals and educators in integrating career readiness into their curricula and provided professional development, improving the educational experience of over 4,979 students.

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 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.6%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 84%; rating input score 84; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -27.2%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.63; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.6%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.5% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.6% of revenue deployed · 75.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $265K · 27 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $272K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 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 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.