Writopia Lab Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
260835350
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2122224088
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,141,897
Expenses
$3,793,547
Assets
$854,328
Liabilities
$802,061

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

Leadership & pay

11 people listed

People named in this filing

  • REBECCA WALLACE SEGALL (Board Member)
  • JEREMY WALLACE SEGALL (Board Member)
  • TIMOTHY E ROGERS (Chairman)

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

Writopia Lab is a not-for-profit organization that fosters joy, literacy, and critical thinking in children and teens from all backgrounds through creative writing. We do this by:1)Providing young people with the creative inspiration and intellectual environment that may not be available to them at school.2)Helping each student become comfortable with expressing himself on paper and to ultimately cultivate (or maintain) a love of writing in each of them.3)Creating and sustain a diverse community of young writers who find commonalities in a shared passion for ideas and expression.4)Offering discounted or waived fees to at least 40% of workshop participants.5)Providing an open, safe, and nurturing space for young people who are highly engaged in creative and intellectual endeavors.6)Providing an open, safe, and nurturing space for young people who struggle with verbal and written expression.7)Identifying ways that creative youth who struggle academically can use their gifts to further th

What it reported doing in 2024

1) Provided young people with the creative inspiration and intellectual environment that may not be available to them at school.2) Helped each student become comfortable with expressing himself on paper and to ultimately cultivate (or maintain) a love of writing in each of them. 3) Createe and sustained a diverse community of young writers who find commonalities in a shared passion for ideas and expression.4) Offered discounted or waived fees to at least 40% of workshop participants.5) Provided an open, safe, and nurturing space for young people who are highly engaged in creative and intellectual endeavors.6) Provided an open, safe, and nurturing space for young people who struggle with verbal and written expression.7) Identified ways that creative youth who struggle academically can use their gifts to further their academic success.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 73% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $32.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st 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: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.4%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.23; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.94; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 8% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73% of revenue deployed · 79.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 11 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 11 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.