Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 862475305
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020
- Location
- Durango, CO, USA
- Phone
- 9703554112
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Educational Services and Schools - Other
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,595,906
- Expenses
- $1,624,746
- Assets
- $259,561
- Liabilities
- $57,860
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- KAREN CHESER (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- PATRICK FREDRICKS (EXECUTIVE DI): $67,277 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The southwest Colorado education collaborative strengthens diverse communities by providing pathways in career readiness and higher education for students to build 21st-century skills and economically viable futures.
What it reported doing in 2024
The southwest Colorado education collaborative currently provides career and college access opportunities to rural students through two higher education institutions and in five southwest region school districts, with expansion plans to include four additional districts in the works. Swcec was awarded five million dollars in additional grant money in 2022 to continue this work. Swcec has extensively worked with thirty industry and community partners to provide work based learning opportunities to over 186 students last year. Swcec started with two career and college pathways (building trades and environmental) and expanded to three additional pathways this year (health sciences, educations, and hospitality & tourism). In addition to the host work based learning events, swcec brought an additional 5 million dollars to the region to support the building of a career exploration middle school program, supporting four new districts to enter the organization, and implementing three new pathways with equipment, educator training, and student access.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 88% 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.
- 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 86
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 69
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85.4%; rating input score 85
- Program expense ratio: 83.8%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $497.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -1.8%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.16; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 41.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 48.5% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 85.4% of revenue deployed · 83.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $67K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
- Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.