Step Student Expedition Program Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
223879050
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Tucson, AZ, USA
Phone
5206091149
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$856,729
Expenses
$889,397
Assets
$1,229,286
Liabilities
$8,688

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TRACY BAYNES (FOUNDER, PRESIDENT, AND CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • TRACY BAYNES (FOUNDER, PRESIDENT, AND CEO): $116,831 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Empower underserved Arizona students to enroll in and graduate from college. Step currently works with over 300 low-income az high-school students yearly. A majority of step students are the first generation in their family to seek a college degree. To date, 96 of steps college-prep alumni are in college or have attained a college degree.

What it reported doing in 2024

College-prep program step provided its comprehensive college-prep program to over 300 low-income Arizona high-school students last year. Steps graduating class of 2024 are attending the three Arizona state universities as well as top-ranked schools nationwide including bowdoin college, brown university, cornell university, dartmouth college, duke university, johns hopkins university, pomona college, university of Pennsylvania, and Washington university in st. Louis to name a few. Steps class of 2024 received over 4 million in 1st-year gift aid for the schools they are attending, corresponding to over 16 million for the next four years.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 97% 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.
  • 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: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.9%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.69 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th 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: 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: -3.8%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.38; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.1%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.9% of revenue deployed · 84.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $751K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $117K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.