The Rp Group Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943207140
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Rafael, CA, USA
Phone
5105278500
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,807,745
Expenses
$5,964,642
Assets
$5,668,020
Liabilities
$1,047,166

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAM MERY (Past President)
  • JAcob KEVARI (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • DARLA COOPER Executive (Director): $268,646 total reported compensation
  • ALYSSA NGUYEN SR DIRECTOR of (RESEARCH & Eval.): $185,756 total reported compensation
  • KATHRYN BROHAWN DIR OF RES EVAL (AND development): $174,262 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 Research and Planning Group for California Community Colleges (The RP Group)is a leader that supports equitable outcomes for minoritized and marginalized students through race-conscious, equity-minded research, planning, and professional development. We uplift student voices and empower researchers and planners to improve institutional effectiveness by dismantling systemic barriers and injustices.

What it reported doing in 2024

Professional developmentamong multiple professional development and outreach initiatives, accomplishments include:-strengthening student success conference october 2024 - with 437 attendees, held annually since 2006, this 3-day event hosts a unique and wide cross-section of ccc attendees who come to share knowledge, learn, and connect, with a focus on improving institutional effectiveness, student success, leadershipcapacity, and equitable outcomes. -rp conference april 2025 - with 243 attendees - the conference encourages irpe professionals from all 116 colleges to attend. Representation in 2025 included attendees from 76 of the ccc colleges and districts.-regional research groups - small regional groups of California community college institutional research, planning, and effectiveness professionals met virtually at multiple points throughout the year to share knowledge on research and planningpier to pier (irpe to irpe) monthly virtual gatherings of college institutional research, planning, and effectiveness professionals from across the state to discuss topics related to research and planning.-leading from the middle academy - a professional development forum for 221 middle leaders in the California community colleges. This period included two different cohorts.september - december 2024 - 124 (2023-2024 cohort)february - may 2025 - 97 (2025-2026 cohort)

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 86% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.7%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 71.3%; rating input score 71
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • 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: 8 of 8 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: 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: 12.4%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.95; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.18; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.6%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.7% of revenue deployed · 71.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $4.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $269K · 25 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $776K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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 — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 46/100.