Penn Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
570324930
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
St Helena Is, SC, USA
Phone
3155158853
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,910,667
Expenses
$1,734,547
Assets
$5,766,450
Liabilities
$710,021

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

Leadership & pay

19 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Robert Adams ED (Executive Director)
  • Bernie Wright (Past Executive Director)

People named in this filing

  • Deloris Pringle (Chairman)
  • Thomas C Barnwell Jr Life trustee (Trustee)
  • Clifford Bush III Emeritus Trustee (Trustee)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of Penn Center is to promote and preserve Penn's true history and culture through it's commitment to education, community development and social justice.

What it reported doing in 2024

The PACE program provides programs assisting Beaufort County Youth with academic achievement, homework assistance and curriculum centered on the Sea Islands Heritage. It also provides Child Care services for children aged 6 months-5 years, and After School and Summer Camp programs for youth aged 6-18 Years. The program also provides a Summer Feeding program for Beaufort County youth to replace food needs when school is out of session during Summer recess months. This is an essential part of the nutritional needs of Beaufort County youth during periods of school inactivity/summer recess.

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 - 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 a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 43
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 44.1%; rating input score 44
  • Program expense ratio: 46.3%; rating input score 46
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 9.2%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.32; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 44.1% of revenue deployed · 46.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $804K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 19 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 44/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 28/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.