The New York Opportunity Network Inc Dba the Opportunity Network

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
431984494
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
6462374090
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$12,676,316
Expenses
$10,959,441
Assets
$13,850,620
Liabilities
$775,593

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

Leadership & pay

40 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LUCRIA ORTIZ (CEO)
  • AILUN KU (CEO (LEFT 2/15/24))

Highest reported compensation

  • LUCRIA ORTIZ (CEO): $305,649 total reported compensation
  • JESSICA PLISKA (FOUNDER): $257,667 total reported compensation
  • SARAH DONNELLY (CHIEF INNOVATION OFFICER): $239,986 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 opportunity network ignites the drive, curiosity, and agency of underrepresented students on their paths to and through college and into thriving careers, powered by our commitment to access and community.

What it reported doing in 2024

The opportunity network (oppnet) works to close the opportunity gap for students from historically and systematically underrepresented communities. Oppnet's career fluency curriculum is the foundation of our work and consists of seven pillars designed to lead young people to holistic college and career success: 1) college access, transition, and success; 2) career awareness and exposure; 3) professional and workplace skills; 4) networks and social capital; 5) social emotional learning; 6) identity and critical consciousness; and 7) wellness and self-care.oppnet's strategy bridges college and career supports across three distinct programs:1) our founding oppnet fellows program works directly with New York city public school students from 10th grade through to their college graduation-engaging students in intensive programming, including individualized college counseling, career exposure, professional skill-building, individualized support through the college years, and five summers of paid internships or meaningful enrichment programming. On average, 94% of oppnet fellows graduate college within six years, and 89% secure career-interest aligned employment or graduate school admission within six months of college graduation. During our 2022-23 fiscal year, oppnet proudly served ~1,100 students through this program.2) oppnet's capacity-building career fluency partnerships program, launched in 2011, helps schools and youth-serving organizations integrate our college and career readiness content into their program models and help them achieve improved outcomes for their young people. Through these one- to two-year capacity-building engagements, oppnet works with each partner to identify their unique needs and desired student outcomes, co-designs a strategy to reach their goals, and trains partner staff to support their students to build essential competencies that drive academic, personal, and professional outcomes. In our 2022-23 fiscal year, oppnet worked with 75 partner institutions to impact over 251,501 students across 26 cities and 10 states.3) our opportunity ignited program, launched in 2020, provides advisory services to companies seeking to embed values of diversity, equity, and inclusion in their businesses. In our 2022-23 fiscal year, oppnet worked with 15 companies, offering inclusive culture mapping, customized workshops, advisory services, access to live and on-demand diversity, equity, and inclusion trainings, and much more.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 64
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 64.2%; rating input score 64
  • Program expense ratio: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.4 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 13.5%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.26; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.5%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 64.2% of revenue deployed · 73.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 26 of 26 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $306K · 40 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.