Scholar Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
813153433
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2019, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Seattle, WA, US
Phone
206-724-3547
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$45,276,999
Expenses
$45,725,910
Assets
$5,238,927
Liabilities
$2,595,324

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David Coven (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • David Coven (CEO): $270,400 total reported compensation
  • Brent Schroeter (Director of Engineering): $195,011 total reported compensation
  • Malachi Williams (Director of Operations): $175,160 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Scholar Fund exists to connect community needs to opportunity and resources. Everyone deserves access to what they need to thrive.

What it reported doing in 2023

Best Starts for Kids Child Care Subsidy: Scholar Fund partners with community organizations and public initiatives to ensure working families have access to equitable, high-quality childcare support. Through collaborative efforts, we streamline the administration of family assistance programs, making childcare accessible to those who face systemic barriers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 98% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 91% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 94
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.1%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 94.1%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $152.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 6th 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; 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.11; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.5; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 31% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 42.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 41.3% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 6 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 95.1% of revenue deployed · 94.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $43M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $270K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $786K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 543 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 532 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.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.