Tennessee Career Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
921804951
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Memphis, TN, USA
Phone
9014876598
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$665,260
Expenses
$745,843
Assets
$259,972
Liabilities
$78,450

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TOM MARINO (PRESIDENT)
  • OCTAVIUS NICKSON (VICE-PRESIDENT)
  • DR JOHN R BARKER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR JOHN R BARKER (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $192,075 total reported compensation
  • MEAH KING (FOUNDER AND HEAD OF SCHOOL): $169,470 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 be the top-rated provider of world-ready graduates in the south by combining high-performance core curriculum with career-focused training and experiences.

What it reported doing in 2024

Tennessee career academy will focus on foundational core curriculum and career and technical education. It will offer four pathways for students: business & communications, engineering & advanced manufacturing, health & human services, and skilled trades. Initial career and technical education program offerings will be in cybersecurity, web design, industrial maintenance technology, mechatronics, early childhood teaching, nursing services, residential and commercial construction, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (mep) systems.

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 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 15
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.4%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 86%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.1%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.3; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 48.5%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 64.1% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.4% of revenue deployed · 86% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $642K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $192K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 24/100.