Important note on the timeliness of ratings

The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Financial and Accountability & Transparency score for Per Scholas is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.

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Star Rating System by Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator evaluates a nonprofit organization’s financial health including measures of stability, efficiency and sustainability. We also track accountability and transparency policies to ensure the good governance and integrity of the organization.

Exceptional

This charity's score is 93.41, earning it a 4-Star rating. Donors can "Give with Confidence" to this charity.

This score is calculated from two sub-scores:

Finance: 91.18 View details
Accountability & Transparency: 97.00 View details

This score represents Form 990 data from 2019, the latest year published by the IRS.

View this organization’s historical ratings.

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Star Rated Report

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Program Expense

Program Expense Ratio

80.4%

The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s).

This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver. Dividing a charity's average program expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Administrative Expenses

14.0%

As reported by charities on their IRS Form 990, this measure reflects what percent of its total budget a charity spends on overhead, administrative staff and associated costs, and organizational meetings. Dividing a charity's average administrative expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Fundraising Expenses

5.5%

This measure reflects what a charity spends to raise money. Fundraising expenses can include campaign printing, publicity, mailing, and staffing and costs incurred in soliciting donations, memberships, and grants. Dividing a charity's average fundraising expenses by its average total functional expenses yields this percentage. We calculate the charity's average expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Liabilities to Assets Ratio

29.0%

The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990).

Part of our goal in rating the financial performance of charities is to help donors assess the financial capacity and sustainability of a charity. As do organizations in other sectors, charities must be mindful of their management of total liabilites in relation to their total assets. This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and or long term sustainability. Dividing a charity's total liabilities by its total assets yields this percentage.

Source: IRS Form 990

Fundraising Efficiency

$0.07

The amount spent to raise $1 in charitable contributions. To calculate a charity's fundraising efficiency, we divide its average fundraising expenses by the average total contributions it receives. We calculate the charity's average expenses and average contributions over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Working Capital Ratio

0.68 years

Determines how long a charity could sustain its level of spending using its net available assets, or working capital, as reported on its most recently filed Form 990. We include in a charity's working capital unrestricted and temporarily restricted net assets, and exclude permanently restricted net assets. Dividing these net available assets in the most recent year by a charity's average total expenses, yields the working capital ratio. We calculate the charity's average total expenses over its three most recent fiscal years.

Source: IRS Form 990

Program Expense Growth

29.26%

We compute the average annual growth of program expenses using the following formula: [(Y_n/Y₀)^(1/n)]-1, where Y₀ is a charity's program expenses in the first year of the interval analyzed, Y_n is the charity's program expenses in the most recent year, and n is the interval of years passed between Y₀ and Y_n.

Source: IRS Form 990

Governance

Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has these governance practices in place.

Sources Include: IRS Form 990

Governance:
Independent Voting Board Members ... (More)
No Material Diversion of Assets ... (More) A diversion of assets – any unauthorized conversion or use of the organization's assets other than for the organization's authorized purposes, including but not limited to embezzlement or theft – can seriously call into question a charity's financial integrity. We check the charity's last two Forms 990 to see if the charity has reported any diversion of assets. If the charity does report a diversion, then we check to see if it complied with the Form 990 instructions by describing what happened and its corrective action. This metric will be assigned to one of the following categories: Full Credit: There has been no diversion of assets within the last two years. Partial Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity has used Schedule O on the Form 990 to explain: the nature of the diversion, the amount of money or property involved and the corrective action taken to address the matter. In this situation, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. No Credit: There has been a diversion of assets within the last two years and the charity's explanation on Schedule O is either non-existent or not sufficient. In this case, we deduct 15 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. (Less)
Audited Financials Prepared by Independent Accountant ... (More) Audited financial statements provide important information about financial accountability and accuracy. They should be prepared by an independent accountant with oversight from an audit committee. (It is not necessary that the audit committee be a separate committee. Often at smaller charities, it falls within the responsibilities of the finance committee or the executive committee.) The committee provides an important oversight layer between the management of the organization, which is responsible for the financial information reported, and the independent accountant, who reviews the financials and issues an opinion based on its findings. We check the charity's Form 990 reporting to see if it meets this criteria. Full Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant with an audit oversight committee. Partial Credit: The charity's audited financials were prepared by an independent accountant, but it did not have an audit oversight committee. In this case, we deduct 7 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. No Credit: The charity did not have its audited financials prepared by an independent accountant. In this case, we deduct 15 points from the charity's Accountability and Transparency score. (Less)
Does Not Provide Loan(s) to or Receive Loan(s) From Related Parties ... (More)
Documents Board Meeting Minutes ... (More)
Distributes 990 to Board Before Filing ... (More)
Compensates Board ... (More)

Policies

Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization has these policies in place.

Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website

Policies:
Conflict of Interest ... (More)
Whistleblower ... (More)
Records Retention and Destruction ... (More)
CEO Compensation Process ... (More)
Donor Privacy ... (More) Donors can be reluctant to contribute to a charity when their name, address, or other basic information may become part of donor lists that are exchanged or sold, resulting in an influx of charitable solicitations from other organizations. Our analysts check the charity's website to see if the organization has a donor privacy policy in place and what it does and does not cover. Privacy policies are assigned to one of the following categories: Yes: This charity has a written donor privacy policy published on its website, which states unambiguously that (1) it will not share or sell a donor's personal information with anyone else, nor send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations or (2) it will only share or sell personal information once the donor has given the charity specific permission to do so. Opt-out: The charity has a written privacy policy published on its website which enables donors to tell the charity to remove their names and contact information from lists the charity shares or sells. How a donor can have themselves removed from a list differs from one charity to the next, but any and all opt-out policies require donors to take specific action to protect their privacy. No: This charity either does not have a written donor privacy policy in place to protect their contributors' personal information, or the existing policy does not meet our criteria. The privacy policy must be specific to donor information. A general website policy which references "visitor" or "user" personal information will not suffice. A policy that refers to donor information collected on the website is also not sufficient as the policy must be comprehensive and applicable to both online and offline donors. The existence of a privacy policy of any type does not prohibit the charity itself from contacting the donor for informational, educational, or solicitation purposes. (Less)	Partial

Transparency

Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990, or for some metrics on the charity's website, that the organization makes this information easily accessible.

Sources Include: IRS Form 990 and organization's website

Transparency:
CEO Salary Listed on 990 ... (More)
Board of Directors Listed on Website ... (More)
Key Staff Listed on Website ... (More)
Audited Financial Statements on Website ... (More)
Form 990 Available on Website ... (More)

Additional Information

Unscored

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Total Revenue and Expenses

This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.

Salary of Key Persons

Presented here are this organizations key compensated staff members as identified by our analysts. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting

Plinio Ayala, President and CEO

$299,684 (1.35% of Total Expenses)

Current CEO and Board Chair can be found in the Leadership & Adaptability report below.

Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2019

Business Master File Data

Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website

Activities:

Described in section 170(b)1)(a)(vi) of the Code (BMF activity code: 994)

Gifts, grants, or loans to other organizations (BMF activity code: 602)

Foundation Status:

Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) (BMF foundation code: 15)

Affiliation:

Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)

Data Sources: IRS Forms 990

The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to view this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available).

Pandemic Response

Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.

Per Scholas reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:

Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
Grants Received
Balance Sheet

How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:

With the initial outbreak of COVID-19, many of our funders, including corporate, foundation, government, and others, began to focus on critical and immediate needs. This decreased the grant revenue available to Per Scholas and necessitated finding additional funding sources that prioritized long-term recovery to the crisis through investment in workforce development and equitable economic recovery for underserved communities. With an anticipated reduction in revenue for our 2020 fiscal year, we adjusted our expenses downward in response. In addition, there was a cost associated with shifting our staff and learners to a fully remote experience, and with building a permanent Remote Training Team. At the same time, our customized training operations grew as demand for a pipeline of technology professionals continued to rise during the pandemic’s remote work environment. We were fortunate to receive a $2.6M PPP loan that allowed us to retain the majority of our staff.

How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:

As COVID-19 began spreading across the United States, Per Scholas acted quickly and nimbly to transition all in-person classes across 12 national locations to remote learning environments. This necessitated creating entirely new processes for remote admissions, technical instruction, learner support, and job attainment assistance. Not only did the learner retention rate remain high during the pandemic, but Per Scholas has successfully launched five new campuses since the start of the pandemic in partnership with TEKsystems, a leading full-stack technology staffing and services provider. Despite challenges, we trained nearly 2,000 learners in 2020 and achieved an impressive 80% graduation rate. With the strong outcomes achieved through remote training, and its demonstrated benefit in increasing accessibility to our courses, we have continued to offer rigorous remote training across our now 17 campuses, and have grown our enrollment to reach a projected 3,000 learners by the end of 2021.

How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:

In response to COVID-19, Per Scholas successfully transitioned all enrolled learners and staff members to a remote work and virtual learning structure and we have continued to enroll thousands of learners into rigorous remote training courses in the past year. We created new virtual volunteering opportunities for our corporate partners, a staff mentoring program to ensure learners feel supported by the entire organization, as well as new processes for remote admissions, learner support, and connecting our graduates with middle-skills job opportunities. We also adapted training curricula and content to fit the remote model, and continue to refine our training with the inclusion of a technology toolkit that includes a laptop with a webcam, headphones, Wi-Fi access, and a Raspberry Pi microcomputer for hands-on learning.

Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:

Per Scholas’ National Remote Training program is now part of our regular offerings, and results indicate a high degree of effectiveness. We also see great potential for remote training to expand accessibility to our training for learners who struggle to access in person courses, such as parents or individuals with mobility issues. These courses are open to candidates from any US city and designed to meet employer-specific job demand. We will also be using what we learned during the transition to remote learning to offer virtual upskilling courses to alumni and to create more alumni targeted services outside of the classroom, lead by our new alumni engagement team. With robust remote training, we will be able to achieve our ambitious goals to scale our reach to 4,000 learners in 2022—doubling enrollment from 2020—and continue to connect our alumni to high-growth careers at a range of employer partners.

Historical Ratings

Date Published	Form 990 FYE	Overall Score	Overall Rating
Rating Version: 2.1
4/1/2022	2019	93.41
6/1/2021	2019	93.41
This organization received multiple star ratings within this fiscal year, due to an update to its Accountability and Transparency data and/or the receipt of an amended Form 990.
2/1/2020	2018	93.19
12/1/2018	2017	93.35
11/1/2017	2016	93.28
10/1/2017	2016	87.76
10/1/2016	2015	91.47
6/1/2016	2014	89.86

Rating Version: 2.0
12/1/2015	2014	93.46
7/1/2015	2013	81.54
12/1/2014	2012	77.84
12/20/2013	2012	76.69
8/1/2013	2011	79.46
8/1/2012	2010	81.58

Previous: Finance & Accountability / Next: Leadership & Adaptability

Impact & Results

This score estimates the actual impact a nonprofit has on the lives of those it serves, and determines whether it is making good use of donor resources to achieve that impact.

Impact & Results Score

100

out of 100

Per Scholas is , earning a passing score. This score has no effect on the organization's Star Rating.

Impact

$8,000 increases the earnings of a low-income adult by $13,000.

Do you work at Per Scholas? Join the waitlist for an updated Impact & Results score.

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Impact & Results Report

100

of 100 points

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Rated Program

Program

WorkAdvance

Activities

The nonprofit provides free, high-quality job training and support services to talented young people. The nonprofit then partners with large I.T. employers to place graduates in jobs.

Program Type

Beneficiaries Served

Program Geography

Time Period of Data

Learn how we assess the impact of nonprofits

Outcomes and Cost

Outcomes: Changes in the lives of those served by a nonprofit. They can be caused by the nonprofit.

Costs: The money spent by a nonprofit and its partners and beneficiaries.

Impact: Outcome caused by a nonprofit relative to its cost.

Cost-effectiveness: A judgment as to whether the cost was a good use of resources to cause the outcome.

Outcome Metric

Outcome Data Source

Ratings are based on data the nonprofit itself collects on its work. We use the most recent year with sufficient data. Typically, this data allows us to calculate direct changes in participants' lives, such as increased income.

Outcome data collected through the research organization M.D.R.C for a study funded by the Social Innovation Fund. M.D.R.C. conducted the evaluation, collecting baseline data and three year follow-up data through surveying, administrative data and other sources.

Method for Attributing Outcomes

We don't know if the observed changes were caused by the nonprofit's program or something else happening at the same time (e.g., a participant got a raise). To determine causation, we take the outcomes we observe and subtract an estimate of the outcomes that would have happened even without the program (i.e., counterfactual outcomes).

The program’s impact was measured using a random assignment design, often referred to as the "gold standard" in evaluation. Randomization ensures there are no systematic differences between participants and the control group they are compared to.

Cost Data Source

After estimating the program's outcomes, we need to determine how much it cost to achieve those outcomes. All monetary costs are counted, whether they are borne by a nonprofit service deliverer or by the nonprofit’s public and private partners.

Program cost data reported by the nonprofit. Partner and beneficiary costs reported by the nonprofit or estimated by Charity Navigator.

Impact and Determination

We calculate impact, defined as the change in outcomes attributable to a program divided by the cost to achieve those outcomes.

Impact Statement

$8,000 increases the earnings of a low-income adult by $13,000.

Benchmark for Rating

Impact & Results scores of workforce training programs are based on income generated relative to cost. Programs receive an Impact & Results score of 100 if they increase income for a beneficiary by more than $1.50 for every $1 spent and a score of 75 if income increases by more than $0.85 for every $1 spent. If a nonprofit reports impact but doesn't meet the threshold for cost-effectiveness, it earns a score of 50.

Determination