Simon Youth Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 352035269
IRS 990 coverage: 2010–2025
Forms available: Form 990 2025, Form 990-T 2025
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA
Phone: 3179359027
Rating: 71
Verdict: SUPPORTED
Rating confidence: Standard
Sector: Remedial Reading, Reading Encouragement

Reported finances

Revenue: $3,594,371
Expenses: $4,266,267
Assets: $15,662,607
Liabilities: $624,057

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

Andrea Neely END 8825 (President and CEO)

Highest reported compensation

Andrea Neely END 8825 (President and CEO): $471,241 total reported compensation
Le-Angela Thompson-Burgess (COO): $206,215 total reported compensation
Timothy Clark (VP Programs): $145,015 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

What it reported doing in 2025

Simon youth foundation(syf) is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping students graduate and prepare for life after high school. We believe every young person, no matter their personal circumstances, deserves the opportunity to pursue their dreams through education. Syf partners with public school districts to strengthen and sustain alternative education programs that serve students at risk of dropping out. Since 1998 through the network, currently 32 simon youth academies in 12 states syf helps thousands of students reach graduation day each year. Often located in simon mall communities, these programs provide a lifeline for young people facing challenges such as homelessness, bullying, parenthood, or the need to work to support their families. Simon youth academies has maintained an average lifetime graduation rate of 91%, helping more than 33,000 students graduate, awarding more than $22.6 million in scholarships, and invested $1.7 million in capacity building.

Operating model

Revenue model: Donor-supported. 82% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model: Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 70% for direct work, and 30% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 54
Transparency & Controls: 83
Accountability: 100
Sustainability: 33
Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 65.6%; rating input score 66
Program expense ratio: 50.4%; rating input score 50
Fundraising efficiency: $3.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th 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: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
Foreign activity oversight: Limited
Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

Operating margin: -18.7%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.67; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 25.2%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

Where the money goes: 65.6% of revenue deployed · 50.4% of spending went to programs
Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.1M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $471K · 24 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
Schedules: 7 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: 5 filed money-flow records
Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
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.

Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 50/100.
High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.