Stem Challenge Initiative
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 272781246
- IRS 990-EZ coverage
- 2013–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990-EZ 2025
- Location
- St Albans, VT, USA
- Phone
- 8025249531
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $21,412
- Expenses
- $14,343
- Assets
- $133,101
Source: IRS Form 990-EZ. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
People named in this filing
- STEPHEN MCKENZIE (SECRETARY/TR)
- ALAYNA WESTCOM (DIRECTOR)
- JACQUI HOOD (DIRECTOR)
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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To create a "scientifically literate population that can thrive in a world increasingly driven by information and technology".
What it reported doing in 2025
Science literacy
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 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and assets have declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 82
- Sustainability: 72
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 73.1%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 33%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.28; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -12.5% per year; rating input score 0; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -3.2% per year; rating input score 0; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 73.1% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: Filed governance answers
- Accomplishments: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
- Consistency: 6 of 6 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2025
- 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: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 56/100.