The YESS Institute

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841579820
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
3036743532
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Camps

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,161,371
Expenses
$1,416,299
Assets
$401,064
Liabilities
$113,985

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Carlo Kriekels (Executive Dir.): $108,503 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

YESS Institute builds inclusive learning communities to support students on their Road to Success.

What it reported doing in 2024

Form 990, Part Ill, Line 4a - Program Service AccomplishmentsWithin its mission to build inclusive learning communities to support students on their road to success and its School Engagement Model, YESS served 900 unduplicated youth at Denver Public Schools: Kennedy HS, Lincoln HS, North HS, Skinner MS, Lake MS Westminster Public Schools: Orchard Park Academy, Shaw Heights MS, Tennyson Knolls, Westminster High School. Our post-secondary success director provided post-secondary planning and support for a total of 65 youth in the YESS Institute high schools. YESS family advocates within Denver Public Schools supported +200 families with food, necessary resources, supplies and financial support. YESS Institute collaborated with community agencies to provide necessary supplies to families. Further, the agency partnered with other local, state and national youth development agencies, schools and the Denver police department providing its emotional intelligence training to benefit a larger community. In addition, YESS Institute partnered with the Denver Office for Children's Affairs to develop a virtual version of the Healthy Lifestyles Cannabis, Vaping and Opioid educational curriculum for middle and high school students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 61% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 16
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 95.4%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.01 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: -22%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.28; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.7%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 95.4% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $109K · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 18/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.