Project Kitty Hawk

Legal name: Project Kitty Hawk Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
873871908
IRS 990 coverage
2021–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Phone
3302092399
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$40,374,468
Expenses
$29,917,753
Assets
$52,913,979
Liabilities
$2,832,623

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ANDREW KELLY (PRESIDENT & CEO)
  • CHRISTOPHER BOYD (VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS)
  • BRIAN FLEMING (VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & STRATEGY)
  • JERRY THOMPSON (VICE PRESIDENT OF TECHNOLOGY)
  • JACK LEWANDOWSKI (VICE PRESIDENT OF STUDENT EXPERIENCE)
  • WILLIAM ZEMP (FORMER CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • WILLIAM ZEMP (FORMER CEO): $490,479 total reported compensation
  • DAVID EBY (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $444,272 total reported compensation
  • JERRY THOMPSON (VICE PRESIDENT OF TECHNOLOGY): $301,378 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

As a nonprofit partner established by the UNC System, our mission is to support System universities in their pursuit of serving adult learners.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization has continued services at east carolina university, North Carolina centeral university and appalachian state university.a. Marketing and admission: attract and engage prospective students, increase awareness of programs and drive enrollment through targeted marketing and student recruitment.b. Student services and support: provide ongoing assistance to help students navigate their education experience through coaching, 24/7 technical support, mental health services and on-demand tutoring services.c. Faculty services: attrach and retain talent by providing professional development opportunities and ongoing support.d. Partnership management: utilize comprehensive market analysis and data to make informed decision about programs, reporting and processes. The organization brought back 2,147 students to the unc system through its' enrollment program, developed over 200 courses since inception and started 1,469 new students in programs powered by the organization.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 61% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 47.1%; rating input score 47
  • Program expense ratio: 60.8%; rating input score 61
  • Fundraising efficiency: $208.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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; 66th 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: 25.9%; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.77; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 48.6% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 34.1% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 50.2% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 47.1% of revenue deployed · 60.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $18.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $490K · 21 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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 47/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.