Solar Youth Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
061600471
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
New Haven, CT, USA
Phone
2033874189
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$786,073
Expenses
$651,801
Assets
$579,831
Liabilities
$21,519

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CANDACE WRIGHT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CANDACE WRIGHT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $109,002 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To empower youth to achieve lifelong success.

What it reported doing in 2023

Steward program: serving children aged 4-14, the after-school and summer programs follows a unique kids explore! Kids do! Kids teach! Program model, in which youth investigate their surroundings and learn about their natural environments (kids explore!), design and perform community action service projects that address issues impacting the overall health of people and the natural environment (kids do!), and then teach what they have learned and accomplished to their community (kids teach!). High-school-aged youth educator interns, who serve as role models for the younger children, work collaboratively with program staff as they learn leadership and general employability skills. In fiscal year 2023-24, 139 unique youth were served in addition to 23 youth educator interns.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 55.1%; rating input score 55
  • Program expense ratio: 66.5%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $37.88 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17.1%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.89; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.7%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.6% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 55.1% of revenue deployed · 66.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $434K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $109K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2015 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 55/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 19/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.