Steps Program Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383849052
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Clarksburg, MD, USA
Phone
8887321022
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,824,441
Expenses
$3,292,974
Assets
$2,822,812
Liabilities
$326,714

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AARON RAKOW (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • LAUREN MERRITT (COO): $198,488 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM BLUM (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $122,866 total reported compensation
  • AARON RAKOW (CEO): $107,579 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote inclusivity and equal accessibility in the academic, social, and vocational learning programs we provide via an atmosphere of academic dignity, individualized service and college-based learning for all.

What it reported doing in 2024

College steps partners with colleges to provide individualized college support for students living with social or learning challenges. College steps offers its support program to students for whom navigating college is challenged by social, academic, or learning barriers. It provides services to both high school students interested in learning about college life prior to high school graduation as well as enrolled college students. Each student participating in college steps receives an individualized college plan that helps to highlight their goals and areas of needed support within academic, social, independent living, and vocational categories. College steps' college campus supports are managed by a full-time program coordinator on each campus who supports college steps' students in the following ways (a) works with students to devise and refine an individualized college plan (icp) that outlines the student's academic, vocational, social, and independent living goals and serves as a working road map for college success, (b) meets with students daily to ensure academic goals are being met and support is being most efficiently provided, (c) interfaces with family members to ensure frequent and detailed feedback on student performance is conveyed, (d) interfaces with college faculty, administrators, staff and students to coordinate and support the individualized needs of each student, (e) supervises college steps network of on-campus peer mentors. College steps also carefully selects, trains, and employs a team of undergraduate students at the partnering college. Peer mentors provide support with academics (e.g. Supportive time study, organizational support, etc) and vocational internships, as well as help link college steps scholars to the social element of college life via introduction to new clubs or activities, social groups, and extracurricular events.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 88% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.3%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 97.2%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.9%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.86; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.3% of revenue deployed · 97.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $198K · 8 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 32/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.