Spark the Journey

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521832497
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2026826020
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,142,190
Expenses
$3,257,620
Assets
$2,873,008
Liabilities
$124,428

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KHARI BROWN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
  • BRANDON WHITE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/SECRETARY)

Highest reported compensation

  • KHARI BROWN (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $438,405 total reported compensation
  • BRANDON WHITE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/SECRETARY): $206,532 total reported compensation
  • JUSTINE QUINTANA (SR. DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS): $151,185 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Spark the journey is a non-profit organization that provides mentorship and a community of support for young adults from Washington d.c.'s low-income neighborhoods to chart their own paths to achieving college and career success.

What it reported doing in 2024

Spark the journey believes that a community of support changes the outcomes of the young adults we serve, so we create an environment where they can engage with the community and learn the importance of building and maintaining relationships. This skill alone helps them gain an understanding of networks as tools for success and exposes them to new and exciting possibilities in their educational and professional lives. We match our program participants with a dedicated mentor. Each mentee and mentor pair are supported by a spark the journey team member who serves as a resource and support system to help ensure they are cultivating meaningful relationships and developing the skills they need to thrive in school or in their career. For spark the journey program participants seeking a college education, they are provided with wrap-around services and programs such as free sat classes and subject-specific tutoring, individualized college advising, application assistance, case management, scholarships, fafsa application assistance, resume revision, professional networking, internship and externship experiences, career exploration days, and direct financial support. For spark the journey program participants seeking an alternate path to career success, we provide case management, resume revision, professional networking, internship and externship experiences, career exploration days, and direct financial support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: -52.1%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.9%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.2% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $438K · 21 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 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.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.