Summer Search

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
680200138
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Phone
4153625225
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Employment Procurement Assistance

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,780,583
Expenses
$21,008,335
Assets
$36,167,937
Liabilities
$4,984,009

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

Leadership & pay

37 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ursulina Ramirez (CEO)
  • Kenyon DeVault (Executive Director - Bay Area)
  • Lakesha Knatt (Executive Director - Seattle)
  • Yesenia Garcia - Fortuna (Executive Director New York since 6.17.24)
  • Jeni Weikert (Executive Director - Philadelphia until 5.3.24)

Highest reported compensation

  • Ursulina Ramirez (CEO): $378,497 total reported compensation
  • Hermese Velasquez (Chief Impact Officer): $248,178 total reported compensation
  • Nick Hutchinson (COFO and Secretary until 11.21.24): $246,543 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Summer Search helps students from under-resourced communities unlock new pathways to success with a proven model of mentoring and summer experiences.

What it reported doing in 2024

Staff training and development: Summer Search conducts a strong training effort to teach the uniquely effective interview process that identifies students that have leadership potential through an original youth development model that identifies three character metrics that it hopes to cultivate in young people: resiliency, altruism, and performance. The Organization provides a comprehensive training to staff in order to develop and improve mentoring skills which can help students develop relational, leadership and resiliency skills. Training is conducted year-round through a series of intensive workshops delivered in person by highly-trained staff and youth development experts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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

SUPPORTED - 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: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.2%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 66.7%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.83 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: -33.1%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.72; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.1% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 5 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 89.2% of revenue deployed · 66.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $14M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $378K · 37 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.