Verified Solutions Fka Tennessee Scholar Academics

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
812796759
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Memphis, TN, USA
Phone
9016026371
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,995,699
Expenses
$9,294,429
Assets
$6,610,820
Liabilities
$1,098,642

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JANAI DOUGLAS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ANGELA GOODIN (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $170,838 total reported compensation
  • JAMES DENNIS (CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER, CH): $164,070 total reported compensation
  • JANAI DOUGLAS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $154,600 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to operate a network of schools and provideproduct driven solutions that help schools operate more efficiently sothat they can prioritize the core work of educating students.

What it reported doing in 2023

Provided 180+ days of k-8 education to over 700 students in memphis, tn and developed operational (teacher staffing, finance, and hr) support services to charter schools, public schools, and other educational entities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.1%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 7%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.9% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.1% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $171K · 6 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $463K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2016 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 57/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.