Straight A Guide Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
271904346
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018, Form 990-EZ 2016, Form 990-N 2010
Location
Aliso Viejo, CA, USA
Phone
8184242220
Rating
64
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Rehabilitation Services for Offenders

Reported finances

Revenue
$261,001
Expenses
$104,050
Assets
$201,802
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Kenneth Mayer (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Justin Paperny - Etika LLC (Executive Dir.): $52,214 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To build safer communities by developing and distributing programs that prepare adult offenders for re-entry into society as law-abiding citizens, and that empower at-risk youth to pursue contributing and fulfilling lives as responsible citizens.

What it reported doing in 2018

Develop and distribute programs that prepare adult offenders for re-entry into society as law-abiding citizens, and that empower at-risk youth to pursue contributing and fulfilling lives as responsible citizens.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 99% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 50
  • Sustainability: 73
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 38.6%; rating input score 39
  • Program expense ratio: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 75%; rating input score 75; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 60.1%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.94; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 50.2%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -26.5% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -17.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 38.6% of revenue deployed · 96.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 1 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $100K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $52K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 16 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2014 to 2018
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 39/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.