Scholars Playground
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 852674050
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2020
- Forms available
- Form 990 2020
- Location
- Sacramento, CA, USA
- Phone
- 9168735002
- Rating
- 46
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $200,000
- Expenses
- $72,288
- Assets
- $127,712
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
1 person listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NICHOLAS HAYSTINGS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- NICHOLAS HAYSTINGS (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $5,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide a new age learning experience for youth in stem, language arts, mindfulness and everything in between.
What it reported doing in 2020
Provided a learning platform for youth in 5th through 12 grades.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 100% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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 revenue comfortably covers expenses. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and a relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 39
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 0
- Sustainability: 69
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 26.2%; rating input score 26
- Program expense ratio: 72.6%; rating input score 73
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: Limited
- 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: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 63.9%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.77; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: Limited
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 26.2% of revenue deployed · 72.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $52K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $5K · 1 people listed
- Consistency: 15 of 15 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- 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.
Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 7 not reported.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 26/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.