The Paradigm Project

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
475170127
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-EZ 2020
Location
Mundelein, IL, USA
Phone
7708517373
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$857,950
Expenses
$809,787
Assets
$317,670
Liabilities
$109

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ANNA HARTMAN (PRES.(TH 8/24)): $8,913 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Multiplying and nurturing the seeds of excellence in jewish early childhood education.

What it reported doing in 2023

Conference - A gathering at a retreat center where aspiring and current education leaders convene to build community and attend sessions related to their work.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 72% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 75
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.1%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 94.4%; rating input score 94
  • Fundraising efficiency: $118.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 92.8%; rating input score 93; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 75%; rating input score 75; 16th 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: NotApplicable
    • 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: 5.6%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.39; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 33.4% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.6% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.1% of revenue deployed · 94.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 4 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $765K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $9K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 21 of 22 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2019 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 18/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 53/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.