Reach University
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 271274290
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Oakland, CA, USA
- Phone
- 5105015075
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $42,968,630
- Expenses
- $40,570,983
- Assets
- $10,075,366
- Liabilities
- $1,886,314
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DARIN S LIM YANKOWITZ (BOARD PRESIDENT)
- JOSEPH E ROSS (PRESIDENT AND CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JOSEPH E ROSS (PRESIDENT AND CEO): $245,489 total reported compensation
- ERIC MICHAEL DUNKER (CHIEF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $193,309 total reported compensation
- SETH AARON ROSENBLATT (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $189,690 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Reach University offers job-embedded Apprenticeship Degrees that enable working adults to earn degrees without student debt, addressing workforce shortages and promoting economic mobility.
What it reported doing in 2024
Reach designs and delivers undergraduate and post-graduate programs that result in job-embedded degrees and certificates. In the school of education, reach offers both bachelor's and master's degree programs and related certifications. Reach also offers consulting services for partners to grow apprenticeship-based pathways. The university has expanded enrollment across all programs, particularly its undergraduate program. The university has also expanded the ncad program by the number of projects and clients it serves. We expect the ncad program to continue to expand in the future.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 73% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 48% for direct work, and 52% for grants.
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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 43
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.6%; rating input score 83
- Program expense ratio: 87.4%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- 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: 5.6%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.25; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 30.1% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 26.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 22.6% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 82.6% of revenue deployed · 87.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $35.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $245K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $463K reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 6 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 47/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.