Schmahl Science Workshops Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
061780217
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Jose, CA, USA
Phone
4082817595
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Historical Societies, Related Historical Activities

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$239,937
Expenses
$222,970
Assets
$570,903
Liabilities
$110,707

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • BELINDA E LOWE SCHMAHL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • BELINDA E LOWE SCHMAHL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $17,081 total reported compensation
  • ELLEN HILBRICH (COO): $14,301 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The children of schmahl science workshops love science. Like children everywhere, they learn most effectively when they are challenged and having fun. We are a partnership of students, parents, scientists, engineers and educators who have come together to help foster this interest in science. We believe children are motivated to learn when their ideas are cultivated through the fun of designing and developing experiments. Schmahl science workshops put the "sizzle" back into science.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our seminar program emphasizes both the nature and the process of science. These are two different aspects of science. The nature of science deals with issues in the philosophy, sociology, and history of science. It includes concerns, such as the nature or attributes of scientific knowledge itself - e.g., that scientific knowledge is durable, but is always inherently subject to change. The process of science addresses what scientists do in order to develop that knowledge. The objective of the seminar research program is to provide students with practical application of science and engineering concepts to equip students with fundamental knowledge that students need to succeed.our seminar research program is designed to provide students with an opportunity to build on an interest in research / engineering and develop skills, knowledge and analytics critical to success. Each student pursues a topic (or topics) of his / her own interest in a real lab situation, paired with a scientist / engineer mentor who has experience in the chosen research field. The seminar includes training in lab safety, literature research, lab notebook documentation, and laboratory techniques and data analysis. The objective of the seminar research program is to provide students with practical application of science and engineering by learning the eight essential practices of science and engineering.seminar participants will also benefit from contextual and historical perspective on the development of the specific scientific concepts and the forward looking relevance to ongoing exploration and research. Our program extends well beyond that topic to address a set of capabilities and experiences that will be valuable in all manner of future endeavors and responsibilities. Ssw has also donated supplies and equipment to nonprofits, including gilroy high school and goodwill to support students.

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 93% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.6%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 81%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.21 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 54.4%; rating input score 54; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.1%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.56; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 14.1%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -9.8% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -10.7% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.6% of revenue deployed · 81% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $181K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $17K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 54/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 25/100.