The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 743048315
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3232726851
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Private Operating Foundations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,289,231
- Expenses
- $10,284,245
- Assets
- $12,910,192
- Liabilities
- $1,125,054
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- OPRAH WINFREY (PRESIDENT / DIRECTOR)
People named in this filing
- OPRAH WINFREY (PRESIDENT / DIRECTOR)
- ROBERT GREENE (VP, TREASURER, & DIRECTOR)
- GAYLE KING (SECRETARY / DIRECTOR)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The organization is an independent school which strives to provide a nurturing educational environment for academically gifted girls who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. The educational programs are designed for girls in grades 8 to 12 who have demostrated academic talent and leadereship potential. The students are equipped with the intellectual and social skills necessary to assume positions of leadership in south africa and abroad.
What it reported doing in 2024
The oprah winfrey leadership academy foundation partnered with the guateng member of the executive council for education and the guateng department of education to build and operate the oprah winfrey leadership academy for disadvantaged south african female students. The academy is an independent school.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Affiliate-supported. 96% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 89% 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.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 37
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 94.1%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: 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 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- 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: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -10.7%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.26; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.09; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -1.1% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -5.8% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -7.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 94.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $9.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.2M reported
- Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Related organizations: 6 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.