Cognia INC

Tax-deductible

Alpharetta, GA501(c)(3)Since 2006EducationEIN 20-8613765

Cognia, INC is dedicated to leading and empowering the education community to ensure that all learners realize their full potential while creating a world of opportunities for every learner. We drive excellence in education through continuous improvement services, assessment, accreditation, research, innovation policy and technology.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
85¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 18,000 volunteers and 521 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $3.3M a year · 3% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 2 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
85%
of spending
Looks good: 85% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$6.0M
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 83% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
2 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 2.0 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $75K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$52.8M
50% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 50% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$140.4M
+3% vs prior year
Spent
$126.2M
To programs
85%
Net assets
$53.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$140.4M
FY2024▲ +3%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$121.2M
FY2021$111.1M
FY2022$115.5M
FY2023$124.3M
FY2024$135.8M
FY2024$140.4M
Expenses
$126.2M
FY2024-0.3%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$120.6M
FY2021$113.8M
FY2022$127.2M
FY2023$136.4M
FY2024$126.5M
FY2024$126.2M
Net assets
$53.1M
FY2024▲ +30%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$33.0M
FY2021$31.2M
FY2022$18.6M
FY2023$31.2M
FY2024$40.9M
FY2024$53.1M

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Jul 2007.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

85 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 85% · $106.7M Management & general 15% · $19.5M

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

38 people listed on the 990; $6.0M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
President/CEO
$1,302,785Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Legal Officer
$479,930Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Marketing Officer
$330,736Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer
$328,179Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Technology Officer
$320,689Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Administrative Officer
$305,620Pt VII · Sec A
Deputy Chief Accred Officer
$276,328Pt VII · Sec A
Senior VP Policy & Advocacy
$249,129Pt VII · Sec A

Dr Mark a Elgart’s $1.3M as President/CEO is at the 83rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 674 $100M+ education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Dr Mark a Elgart$1,302,785$1,013,237$1,030,064$997,350$990,105$924,850
Kenneth I Bergman$479,930$442,187$423,086$426,098$434,788$418,958
Stephen Murphy$83,039$381,705$390,268$370,551$372,964$380,180
Mr Martin Borg———$130,091$260,463$384,647
Angela Hilliard$330,736$309,827$311,964$266,528$257,121$258,488
Dr Annette Bohling$234,332$328,990$322,565$281,279$279,040$259,662
Channa Williams$328,179$272,125————
Stephen Ferrara——$326,580$316,086$307,624$303,161

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Improves education through services, assessment, accreditation, research, and innovation.

Provided by the organization

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2 program services account for $106.7M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Cognia provides large-scale, special population and targeted educational assessment services and products to various state and local educational systems in the United States.

$59.9Mprogram expense
02

Cognia, Inc. develops and applies research-based accreditation and school improvement standards, processes, procedures, expertise, and tools that cross state, regional, and international boundaries to effect continuous school improvement through ongoing external checks, support, and feedback.

$46.8Mprogram expense

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Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2023
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$75K

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$140.4M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$133.7M
Other incomeLn 4–11$3.9M
Investment incomeLn 3$2.1M
Money outPt IX
$126.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$106.7M
Managementcol C$19.5M
Owns and owesPt X
$53.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$20.6M
Total assetsLn 16$105.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$52.8M
PeoplePt VI, VII
38
listed · VII A
PaidVII A37
Voting boardVI 1a0
IndependentVI 1b0
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$732K
Government grantsLn 1e$20K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$133.7M
Investment incomeLn 3$2.1M
Other incomeLn 4–11$3.9M
Gains on assetsLn 7$1.8M
Total revenueLn 12$140.4M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$20.6M
SavingsLn 2$0
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$20.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$8.5M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$24.2M
Other assetsLn 15$16.4M
Total assetsLn 16$105.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$52.8M
Net assetsLn 32$53.1M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5521
VolunteersI 618,000
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$13.3M$20.6M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$0$8.5M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$26.6M$24.2M
Total assetsLn 16$94.6M$105.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$53.6M$52.8M
Net assetsLn 32$41.0M$53.1M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$5.2M$4.1M$1.2M
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$38.4M$29.9M$8.6M
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$4.4M$3.4M$973K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$9.1M$7.0M$2.0M
Payroll taxesLn 10$3.1M$2.4M$700K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$53K$53K
Accounting feesLn 11c$201K$201K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$44.5M$41.4M$3.0M
Advertising and promotionLn 12$1.1M$986K$148K
Office expensesLn 13$1.2M$1.0M$187K
Information technologyLn 14$6.0M$5.7M$355K
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$2.7M$2.2M$538K
TravelLn 17$3.6M$3.1M$478K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$478K$382K$96K
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$3.9M$3.1M$784K
InsuranceLn 23$553K$442K$111K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$1.7M$1.6M$88K
Total functional expensesLn 25$126.2M$106.7M$19.5M$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 $135.8M$126.5M$9.3M$40.9M 990 PDF
FY2023 $124.3M$136.4M−$12.1M$31.2M 990 PDF
FY2022 $115.5M$127.2M−$11.7M$18.6M 990 PDF
FY2021 $111.1M$113.8M−$2.7M$31.2M 990 PDF
FY2020 $121.2M$120.6M$628K$33.0M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2024 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $140,431,798 across 11 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$20,000
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$712,500
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$732,500
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $133,707,569$133,707,569
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $294,209$294,209
VIII-5 Royalties$0
VIII-6 Net rental income or loss$0
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsRelated to mission $1,807,400$1,807,400
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events$0
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $3,890,120$3,890,120
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $139,699,298$140,431,798
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $126,170,977 across 30 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $4,067,418 · Management $1,168,280$5,235,698
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $29,857,882 · Management $8,576,049$38,433,931
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $3,387,533 · Management $972,998$4,360,531
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $7,034,875 · Management $2,020,620$9,055,495
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $2,437,677 · Management $700,171$3,137,848
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $53,021$53,021
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $201,445$201,445
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11e Professional fundraising fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $41,424,874 · Management $3,035,893$44,460,767
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $985,538 · Management $148,028$1,133,566
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $1,012,499 · Management $187,382$1,199,881
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $5,667,191 · Management $355,348$6,022,539
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $2,151,312 · Management $537,828$2,689,140
IX-17 TravelPrograms $3,104,615 · Management $477,567$3,582,182
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 InterestPrograms $382,423 · Management $95,606$478,029
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $3,135,357 · Management $783,839$3,919,196
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $442,168 · Management $110,542$552,710
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $1,566,928 · Management $88,070$1,654,998
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $106,658,290 · Management $19,512,687 · Fundraising $0$126,170,977
Part X · Balance sheet $105,922,494 assets, 24 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $13,345,632$20,589,647
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $0$0
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $0$0
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $25,303,703$26,127,066
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $0$0
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $1,691,439$1,477,311
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $26,610,696$24,189,653
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $0$8,495,873
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $0$0
X-13 Program-related investmentsStart of year $0$0
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $9,878,755$8,621,330
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $17,815,282$16,421,614
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $94,645,507$105,922,494
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $21,874,243$16,440,907
X-18 Grants payableStart of year $0$0
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $8,425,109$10,158,216
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $0$9,657,358
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $0$0
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $18,337,912$16,534,124
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $53,637,514$52,790,605
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $41,007,993$53,131,889
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $0$0
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $41,007,993$53,131,889
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $94,645,507$105,922,494
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $53,131,889 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$140,431,798
XI-2 Total expenses$126,170,977
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$14,260,821
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$41,007,993
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments−$2,136,925
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$53,131,889

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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