Youth Employment Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461083070
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
7209323052
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Youth Development Programs

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,675,127
Expenses
$1,676,199
Assets
$582,519
Liabilities
$208,512

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOSHUA CRAWLEY (INTERIM CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOSHUA CRAWLEY (INTERIM CEO): $335,102 total reported compensation
  • JOAQUIN CINTRON VEGA (MEMBER): $310,464 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The youth employment academy's mission is to serve young adults in breaking the cycle of generational poverty in denver communities by gaining personal and economic stability through education, arts, technology and employment training.

What it reported doing in 2024

Yea's programs seek to empower youth to reach their greatest potential in education and employment by gaining skills and positive values. Utilizing best practice strategies of positive youth development, yea acts as a stepping stone to career and educational success for students caught in the achievement gap between high school and early college. Current programming includes career academies in the demand-driven industries of culinary, customer service, and arts and technology. Academies range from short, 15-hour weekend intensives up to 70 hours of weekly training, with an average of 45 hours of skills training. Academies are held for youth from ages 14 to 21. Continued on schedule o.the culinary academy teaches youth about food safety, healthy cooking, knife skills, following a recipe, sauteing, roasting, and baking. Participants also utilize the kitchen lab at the osage cafe to learn about front- and back-of-house restaurant skills. The creative industries academies include training in skills needed for entry-level jobs in information technology, graphic design, architecture, video production, and more, utilizing a project-based curriculum for actual clients so youth learn project management and other job skills. Some academies are held during in-school time (and receive high school credit) while others are held after-school, on weekends, and during the summer. Upon completion of a career academy, youth are eligible for a real-world internship experience at the osage cafe or arts street studio. We also provide an afterschool mentorship program throughout the year for youth in any program. The youth employment academy has the ability to provide career specific occupational training, which can lead to nationally recognized certification and entry-level readiness for employment in the career of their choice.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 99.5%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.1%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.35; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.6%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.4% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 99.5% of revenue deployed · 81.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $335K · 10 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: 3 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 35/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 16/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.