See Forever Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521942257
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2027978250
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Delinquency Prevention

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,034,332
Expenses
$12,150,633
Assets
$3,151,425
Liabilities
$620,644

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • CLARISSE MENDOZA DAVIS - CHIEF (EXECUTIVE OF): $290,005 total reported compensation
  • AMANDA GAEBELEIN - DIRECTOR (HUMAN RESOUR): $205,778 total reported compensation
  • FELECIA HAYWARD - DEPUTY CHIEF (SECURE PROGR): $205,069 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 create learning communities in lower income urban areas where all students, particularly those who have not succeeded in traditional schools, can reach their potential, and prepare for college, career, and a lifetime of success. To further its mission, the foundation manages three schools: the maya angelou academy at new beginnings youth development center; the maya angelou academy at the dc department of corrections; and the maya angelou academy at the youth services center.

What it reported doing in 2024

The see forever foundation was created to offer a holistic program to teens involved in the juvenile justice system. At that time, court-involved teens told the organization's co-founders that they wanted to earn money, learn marketable skills, and gain responsibility. When they returned to school, they also wanted to attend small classes with teachers who cared about them, and they wanted help making hard decisions. After several years of operations, the see forever foundation has refined its mission to create learning communities in lower income urban areas where all students, particularly those who have not succeeded in traditional schools, can reach their potential and prepare for college, career, and a lifetime of success. To further its mission, the foundation manages three schools inside secure facilities; new beginnings, youth services center, and department of corrections, which provide core academic instruction school programming; ged and sat prep classes; computer skills courses; college tours, and other enrichment programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 95% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $79.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.26; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.1%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.2% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.3% of revenue deployed · 87.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $290K · 14 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $345K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.