S T E P Academics Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 050589877
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2013, Form 990-EZ 2025
- Location
- Tucker, GA, USA
- Phone
- 6784719894
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $27,224
- Expenses
- $21,815
- Assets
- $7,589
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
5 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Lauren Fofana (Founder and Executive Director)
People named in this filing
- Lauren Fofana (Founder and Executive Director)
- Yvonne McFall (Artistic Director)
- Patricia Diggs (Recording Secretary)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
S.T.E.P. Academics was founded in 2003 to offer tutoring services to students who consistently underperformed on standardized tests. In 2008 we began offering during-school-day small group instructional support to students in grades 1-12. "S.T.E.P." tutors are state-credentialed professional educators. Moderate to low-performing students benefit from small group, data-driven, and differentiated instruction. It has been proven that this instructional model has increased the academic performance and confidence of low-performing students. In addition, S.T.E.P. has incorporated the study of performing arts as a means of refining student exposure to various kinds of literature through the study of acting, the study of vocal music, and broad dance styles. Performing Arts classes are taught by professionally trained and experienced performing artists. Students are fully engaged in the learning process as they participate in both online tutoring and in-person performing arts instruction.
What it reported doing in 2025
S.T.E.P. Academics provides academic support and performing arts instruction to students whose families come from low-to-moderate income levels. The disciplined study of performing arts adds tremendous value to reading, articulation, diversity, and tolerance. Academic tutoring is done by state-certified educators in the core subjects of Math and Reading for students in Grades 1 -12. To date, S.T.E.P. Academics has provided academic support to over 2,500 students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 88
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 49
- Growth: 20
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 80.1%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 19.9%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 99.9%; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3.9% per year; rating input score 0; 37th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 80.1% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $22K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 0/100.