The Collective Education Fund

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN: 831632428
IRS 990 coverage: 2019–2021
Forms available: Form 990 2021, Form 990-N 2021
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Phone: 2029030763
Rating: 70
Verdict: SUPPORTED
Rating confidence: Standard
Sector: Voter Education, Registration

Reported finances

Revenue: $1,307,959
Expenses: $1,598,987
Assets: $157,810
Liabilities: $0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

STEFANIE BROWN (DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

QUENTIN JAMES (DIRECTOR, TREASURER, EXEC DIR): $180,000 total reported compensation
STEFANIE BROWN (DIRECTOR, PRESIDENT): $178,480 total reported compensation
TOLULOPE OLASANOYE (ORGANIZING DIRECTOR): $113,384 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The organization's mission is to maximize african american civic engagement.

What it reported doing in 2021

The organization's programs focused on increasing civic engagement within the black community. Between july 2021 and june 30, 2022, the organization used targeted digital advertising and text messages to educate the black community about the importance of voting and civic engagement.

Operating model

Revenue model: Donor-supported. 99% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model: Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 85% of its reported program spending out as grants.

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 a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

Financial Efficiency: 90
Transparency & Controls: 75
Accountability: 52
Sustainability: 22
Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
Program expense ratio: 87.8%; rating input score 88
Fundraising efficiency: $16.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th 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; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

Operating margin: -22.3%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.1; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

Program expense growth: -56.3% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Revenue growth: -61% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
Asset growth: -39.9% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.8% of spending went to programs
Governance: 2 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
Leadership: top reported pay $180K · 6 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $1.1M reported
Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
Filing history: 2 filing years from 2019 to 2021
Contacts: How to reach this organization
Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
Related organizations: 5 filed related-organization links
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.

High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.
High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.