The Ingenuity Project Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 521942495
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Baltimore, MD, USA
- Phone
- 4106628665
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,941,082
- Expenses
- $2,089,057
- Assets
- $2,135,291
- Liabilities
- $59,880
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- Lisette Morris (Executive Dir.): $169,668 total reported compensation
- Kathy Bacon (Middle School Dir.): $122,217 total reported compensation
- Selene Willis (Deputy Dir., HS): $119,799 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of The Ingenuity Project is to prepare and launch the next diverse generation of nationally competitive STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) leaders from Baltimore City Public Schools.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Ingenuity Project is a comprehensive, advanced math, science, and research instructional program for students in grades six through twelve with more than 25 years of positive, demonstrated student achievement outcomes. The program identifies, recruits, and supports gifted and advanced students who represent Baltimore City. Ingenuity's curriculum is developed by experienced teachers with backgrounds in STEM. Through a unique high school research practicum, students conduct independent investigations into topics of interest, with research mentors who guide their pursuit of scientific and technological discoveries. Alumni enroll in some of the nations' most competitive colleges and enter STEM careers.
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 99% 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 total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 61
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 58.6%; rating input score 59
- Program expense ratio: 80.6%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $16.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd 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: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 29%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.02; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 24.9%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 58.6% of revenue deployed · 80.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $170K · 20 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.