Solar Car Challenge Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 274536063
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2024
- Location
- Plano, TX, USA
- Phone
- 2145878489
- Rating
- 94
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $192,119
- Expenses
- $187,760
- Assets
- $26,623
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Lehman Marks (President)
- William Shih (Vice-President)
People named in this filing
- Lehman Marks (President)
- William Shih (Vice-President)
- Chris Jones (Chief Race Judge)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
STEM Education - Science, Engineering, Alternative Energy. The Solar Car Challenge Foundation helps motivate students in Science, Engineering, and Alternative Energy. We teach high school students how to plan, fund-raise, design, engineer, build, and race roadworthy solar cars. This goal is achieved through in-person workshops, virtual workshops, curriculum materials, mentor programs, and on-site visits. Since its inception, we have worked with more than 65,000 students in 37 states helping share the fun of STEM Education. Students enter a 15-month education cycle wherein they learn mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, aerodynamics, battery technology, project management, financial planning, materials technology, communications, coding, and construction skills. Most importantly, students learn life skills including dedication and commitment to a project. They learn how to deal with both success and failure.
What it reported doing in 2024
(1) The Solar Car Challenge Education Program taught 8,500 students and teachers how to plan, design, engineer, and build a roadworthy solar car through in-person and virtual workshops. (2) The Solar Car Challenge Foundation hosted a racing event at the Texas Motor Speedway that allowed student solar car teams from around the country to both display and safely race their vehicles. Forty-five teams registered to take part in the 2024 event. (3) The Solar Car Challenge hosted multiple national workshops teaching engineering and project management to high school students. This was done virtually to minimize COVID exposure. (4) The Solar Car Challenge and participating teams shared their project with both Elementary School Students and Middle School Students around the country. Our goal is to inspire youngsters to get involved with Science and Engineering. (5) The Solar Car Challenge continued its "challenge" to high school students to build a vehicle, power that vehicle by the Sun, and to drive that vehicle at a world famous NASCAR Trace (The Texas Motor Speedway) in Fort Worth, Texas.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 81% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 95% 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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 99
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 97.8%; rating input score 98
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.14; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -7.1% per year; rating input score 0; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 73.4% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 97.8% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $188K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 9 of 9 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 14/100.