The Agoge Project
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 823611749
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2023, Form 990-N 2022
- Location
- Baltimore, MD, USA
- Phone
- 4437605437
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Youth Development Programs
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $345,177
- Expenses
- $269,469
- Assets
- $221,221
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MICHAEL JOHN JR (FOUNDER/PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MICHAEL JOHN JR (FOUNDER/PRESIDENT): $19,557 total reported compensation
- ORE-OFE ILUYOMADE (DIRECTOR): $16,500 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To find a way to provide dependable educational resources for the youth in the belair-edison neighborhood of baltimore
What it reported doing in 2025
The agoge project's boxing program builds self-discipline, focus, and academic accountability through structured amateur boxing training. The program delivered 529 hours of instruction in 2025, and eight amateur boxers - all in their first year of competition - represented tap in 24 amateur bouts and 3 professional bouts, traveling to a national tournament in Michigan and competing in regional events in North Carolina en route to 13 championships and 2 state or national representations. To remain eligible to compete, boxers are required to maintain strong school attendance and academic standing, reinforcing that the gym is a tool for life success rather than an end in itself. As with every agoge project program, boxing participants receive access to whole-food meals, are layered into weekly and monthly mental health and counseling services, and are paired with consistent adult mentors who track their progress inside and outside the gym.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 74% 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 - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 70
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 69
- Sustainability: 57
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 71%; rating input score 71
- Program expense ratio: 91%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: 21.9%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.82; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 13.4%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 36.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 47% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 36.3% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 71% of revenue deployed · 91% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $245K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $20K · 9 people listed
- Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 2 filing years from 2024 to 2025
- 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.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 36/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.