Top Notch Scholars Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 464527723
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
- Location
- Lawrence, MA, USA
- Phone
- 9789948060
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $444,014
- Expenses
- $556,156
- Assets
- $431,612
- Liabilities
- $97,548
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RONALD HILL (PRESIDENT)
- JOANNA DE PEA (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- JOANNA DE PEA (CEO): $99,040 total reported compensation
- JENNY ALVAREZ (TREASURER): $80,319 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Top notch scholars is a youth leadership organization dedicated to helping inner-city youth discover their life passions and career goals by building confidence, motivation, character, and success. Through mentorship, training, and real-world experiences in our academies and internships, top notch equips young people with the tools to overcome barriers, grow as leaders, and become impactful change-makers in their communities.
What it reported doing in 2024
Entrepreneurship academy: the top notch entrepreneurial academy empowers students to think like innovators and problem-solvers through hands-on experience in business operations and management. Students learn the core fundamentals of entrepreneurshipmarketing, sales, cold calling, door knocking, public speaking, and leadershipwhile managing a real venture: selling and promoting top notch water. Through mentorship, workshops, and direct sales experience, they build the confidence, creativity, and resilience needed to launch their own businesses or apply entrepreneurial thinking in any career. Every dollar from water sales goes directly toward scholarships, giving inner-city youth the opportunity to pursue college, trade programs, or real estate careers.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 98% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 63
- Sustainability: 19
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 92.2%; rating input score 92
- Program expense ratio: 73.5%; rating input score 74
- Fundraising efficiency: $33.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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: 1 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 11
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -25.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.78; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 32.2%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 21.4% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 28.5% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 32.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 92.2% of revenue deployed · 73.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 1 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $409K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $99K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 34/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 19/100.