The Apex Institute Formerly the Institute for Civil

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
820973575
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Memphis, TN, USA
Phone
9015260592
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Civil Rights

Reported finances

Revenue
$19,400
Expenses
$18,779
Assets
$5,343
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • A C WHARTON JR (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • A C WHARTON JR (PRESIDENT)
  • LOIS RIESLING (SECRETARY)
  • ANTHONY C SIRACUSA (TREASURER, V)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To support college students in developing civic leadership skills, and educating people in the memphis region about both historical and contemporary topics through scholarly research and reporting.

What it reported doing in 2020

The institute for civil rights and civic leadership will train an intercollegiate cohort of undergraduate students annually to research and work on civic challenges in the city of memphis. The institute will also provide public education on civic challenges for populations in the memphis region. The institute will convene an annual cohort of fifteen civil rights fellows from colleges across memphis to study public issues and engage in community service. Fellows will partner with nonprofits and government agencies where they will complete ten hours of community service each week throughout the fall and spring semesters. Fellows will also conduct research on these public issues. They will write and publish a paper outlining all of the relevant policies and laws for the issue under consideration. Their research and work will provide the foundation for a state of the city report published every two years. Civil rights fellows will also participate in weekly programming where they will share their progress working with community partners, discuss their research, and participate regularly in community building activities and workshops. Additionally, civil rights fellows will hold a workshop to share their findings and strategies with the public. These community workshops will be a space for conversation and mutual engagement between civil rights fellows and members of the memphis community. The institute will also host eight speakers per year. These speakers will discuss their work on public issues, and will spend a day in memphis meeting with community partners to discuss local efforts to address these issues. Finally, the institute for civil rights will host a scholar in residence to be present for these annual activities throughout the course of an academic year. In partnership with local colleges and universities, the national civil rights museum, as well as nonprofits, government agencies, and local business throughout the region, the institute for civil rights and civic leadership hopes to prepare the next generation of public leaders.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 77% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 59
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.3%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 68.5%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 3.2%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -174% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -41.8% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.3% of revenue deployed · 68.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2019 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.