San Diego Squared

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
853336715
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
Phone
6198189043
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,668,522
Expenses
$1,384,413
Assets
$3,618,649
Liabilities
$1,515,179

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Harid Puentes (Co-Founder): $215,763 total reported compensation
  • Karmin Noar (COO): $195,283 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To advance workforce and talent development within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics ("STEM") sectors by fostering excellence in education, expanding access to opportunities, and delivering transformative resources to empower underrepresented and underserved communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

Squared Interns: Internships can provide a gateway to full-time employment in STEM-driven companies. The Organization has identified opportunities for interns and has recruited champions within some of San Diego County's most innovative companies that are ready to help interns succeed. San Diego Squared matches promising underrepresented undergraduate, graduate, and PhD students pursuing STEM-centered degrees to paid internships.STEM CapsulesThe San Diego Squared STEM Capsules are short videos that aim to build awareness, inspiration, and STEM representation for underrepresented students. Working in partnership witha video production company, the Organization created a display of videos highlighting committedSTEM professionals sharing their stories, challenges, and advice with the aim to strengthen theSTEM identity in students.SD2 Qtrly All HandsA quarterly event beginning in 2022 where San Diego Squared brings together students, parents, educators, STEM professionals, and student organizations to strengthen the community thatbelieves that diversity belongs in STEM. San Diego Squared shares best practices andopportunities for collaboration and champion thesuccesses throughout the community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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 - 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: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.5%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 81.8%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $10.14 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • 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; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 17%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.61; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.42; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.7%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 35.8% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 22.1% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.5% of revenue deployed · 81.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 16 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $216K · 17 people listed · 1 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: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 38/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.