Roots of Success

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
880879635
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Berkeley, CA, USA
Phone
5104700803
Rating
46
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Environmental Education and Outdoor Survival Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,888,608
Expenses
$537,579
Assets
$2,828,725
Liabilities
$4,552

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Maurice Hampton (Vice President)
  • Cyril Walrond (Vice President)
  • An Bui (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Raquel Pinderhughes (Director): $206,250 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

? Roots of Success? RoS is an empowering environmental literacy and job training 501c3 program that prepares youth and adults to access jobs and career pathways in environmental fields, and to improve environmental conditions in their communities. The program is centered around a federal and California state registered Department of Labor Apprenticeship and Pre-Apprenticeship and a 10-module course. Pre-apprentices earn an ? Environmental Specialist? credential. Apprentices earn a ? CTE Environmental Literacy Instructor? credential.The program is offered in a wide range of settings that include: high schools, youth programs, adult schools, job training programs, reentry programs, prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities. Since 2009, the program has been offered in over 600 schools and organizations throughout the United States over 26,000 youth and adults have gone through the program, more than 12,000 took the course while incarcerated.

What it reported doing in 2025

Expanded apprenticeship and Pre- apprenticeship program. Increased revenue, strengthened the leadership team and strengthened infrastructure.

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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 47
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 23.6%; rating input score 24
  • Program expense ratio: 83.6%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.03 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 10th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 71.5%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.26; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 38.4%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 41.8% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 40.9% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 49.2% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 23.6% of revenue deployed · 83.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 6 board members independent · 0 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $449K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $206K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2022 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 24/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.