Usul Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
872255824
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lombard, IL, USA
Phone
7186442442
Rating
56
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other
Affiliation
Islam

Reported finances

Revenue
$801,169
Expenses
$289,882
Assets
$719,193
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Recep Senturk (President)

People named in this filing

  • Hooman Keshavarzi (Treasurer)
  • Recep Senturk (President)
  • Necva Solak (Secretary)

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

Usul Academy aims to deliver classical madrasa education, as well as contemporary subjects within an Islamic framework. Our courses are offered online for students across the globe, with opportunities for face-to-face learning in Istanbul. Usul Academy currently offers a BA and MA in Comparative Islamic Studies in which students study traditional Islamic disciplines and social sciences from a comparative perspective. We also offer a 1-year Academic Arabic Program.

What it reported doing in 2024

- Successfully carrying on our Arabic program and 5 years Usul Program - Admitting new students for our 2023 cohort- Organizing Usul Talks (guest lectures)- Offering scholarships to students from the US and around the world- Releasing our weekly Newsletter

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 48
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 86
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 32.6%; rating input score 33
  • Program expense ratio: 90%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 63.8%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.48; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 59.6% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 99.1% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 32.6% of revenue deployed · 90% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 5 board members independent · 0 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $261K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 2 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 33/100.
  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 6 not reported.