The Caltech Y

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951684790
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Pasadena, CA, USA
Phone
6263956163
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,168,033
Expenses
$1,146,323
Assets
$12,040,674
Liabilities
$125,626

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ATHENA R CASTRO (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • ATHENA R CASTRO (Executive Director): $173,805 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 enrich student life and challenge students to grow into responsible citizens of the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Student Leadership & Programs - Approximately 60 student leaders planned and implemented 70+ programs through committees such as ExComm, Y-Outdoors, and Community Service.Community Service Included Rise Tutoring for Pasadena Unified middle/high school students, Make-A-Difference Day, Community Service & Advocacy Fair, Union Station Adopt-a-Meal and Birthday Club dinners, LEARNs after-school science demos, MLK Week service projects, and tutoring programs including Rise, Anawakalmekak School, Math Power Hour, Young Legends, and Youth of Promise (YOP).Outdoor Programs Adventure 101 talks, day hikes, camping trips, and multi-day adventures to destinations including Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Channel Islands, and Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.Cultural/Educational/Social Science and advocacy speakers (SASS series), election-focused civic engagement events, cultural cuisine outings, World Fest (featuring Kenya, South Korea, the Netherlands, and Turkey), a science policy trip to Washington, DC, a cultural trip to India, an alternative spring break trip to Geneva, Switzerland, Explore LA outings, and finals week decompression events.Awards & ScholarshipsThe Caltech Y staff led committees for each of the following awards to select student awardees: 3 Paul Studenski Memorial Award 9 Patrick Hummel & Harry Gray Travel Award 5 Advocating Change Together Awards 7 Gunilla Hastrup Memorial Adventure Award 2 Beckman AwardThe Lucy Guernsey Service Award was presented to 2 students for their exceptional service to the community and leadership in service programs.The Rise Service Award were given to a Rise tutor who demonstrated excellent tutoring skills and a commitment to the program and their student(s). Twelve Rise tutees applied for and were selected for scholarships ranging from $500 to $1000 for school supplies, tuition, and general financial assistance in their college journeys.

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 94% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.4%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 73.3%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 1.9%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.5; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 15.2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.4% of revenue deployed · 73.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $841K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $174K · 25 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.