Senator George J Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 010523390
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025
- Location
- Portland, ME, USA
- Phone
- 2077737700
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $7,456,713
- Expenses
- $3,756,671
- Assets
- $60,238,433
- Liabilities
- $5,181,690
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jared Cash (President/Secretary)
Highest reported compensation
- Jared Cash (President/Secretary): $189,924 total reported compensation
- Jeffrey Candura (Development Director): $139,379 total reported compensation
- Lisa Sirois (Finance Director): $124,463 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The principal purpose of the Mitchell Institute is to provide scholarships and other support to Maine students pursuing higher education. Because of our organization's desire to understand and remove obstacles to achieving a college degree, a related purpose is to engage in research on these issues.
What it reported doing in 2025
The Senator George J Mitchell Scholarship Research Institute is dedicated to advancing the Senator's mission to increase the likelihood that young people from every community in Maine will aspire to, pursue, and achieve a college education. The Institute works with young people statewide who face uphill battles on their way to college and levels the playing field for them by providing financial resources and a broad range of support. Each year, the Institute awards a scholarship to at least one graduating senior from every public high school in Maine. The Mitchell Institute awarded 200 scholarships in 2025. In addition to the scholarship, the Institute provides support including personal and professional development programming, opportunities for additional funding for internships and study abroad, and access to a network that provides lasting relationships and career advice. The Institute believes every Maine student deserves an opportunity to succeed, and that success positively impacts the Scholar and all Maine communities. The Institute's research documents the college and career experiences of its Scholars, provides evidence of Scholars' success, and evaluates its programs and events to ensure that Mitchell Scholars and Alumni receive effective support.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 74% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration and liabilities are high compared with assets.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 79
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 69.3%; rating input score 69
- Program expense ratio: 86.3%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: $20.93 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Pass
- 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: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 48th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 49.6%; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 16.04; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 12.1%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 69.3% of revenue deployed · 86.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $190K · 24 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $176K reported
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2010 to 2025
- 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.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.