Steppingstone Scholars Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 421612131
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2022
- Forms available
- Form 990 2022
- Location
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Phone
- 2152044012
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,197,872
- Expenses
- $4,453,250
- Assets
- $0
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
23 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SEAN VEREEN (PRESIDENT)
- CHRISTOPHER AVERY (VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS)
- PAIGE LEGRAND (VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPM)
- CHANELL BATES (VICE PRESIDENT OF TALENT)
Highest reported compensation
- SEAN VEREEN (PRESIDENT): $278,656 total reported compensation
- CHRISTOPHER AVERY (VICE PRESIDENT OF PROGRAMS): $199,338 total reported compensation
- TU-QUYEN NGUYEN (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $156,359 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Steppingstone scholars is an educational social mobility organization. For low income students in the city of philadelphia, there are often no clear pathways to college or the workforce. Since 1999, steppingstone has been working to address this systemic problem by creating not just one pathway, but many.
What it reported doing in 2022
Through strategic partnerships and high-impact resourcing, steppingstone offers educationally underserved students long-term, intense academic and enrichment support, which is unmatched in philadelphia. Steppingstone produces engaged citizens ready to enter a dynamic workforce through robust college and career prep support services. In 2022-2023, we served approximately 2,500 students through our academy, pathways and ventures programming.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 92
- Sustainability: 3
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.8%; rating input score 99
- Program expense ratio: 70%; rating input score 70
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- 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: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -39.3%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 21.1%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 17.5% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 18.3% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 98.8% of revenue deployed · 70% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 19 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $279K · 23 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2010 to 2022
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.