1619 Freedom School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 473954055
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2021, Form 990-N 2020
- Location
- Waterloo, IA, US
- Phone
- (319) 427-0314
- Rating
- 78
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Arts, Cultural Organizations - Multipurpose
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $436,447
- Expenses
- $476,391
- Assets
- $653,596
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES (PRESIDENT)
- SHERITTA STOKES (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- SHERITTA STOKES (VICE PRESIDENT): $39,252 total reported compensation
- JOY HARRINGTON (SECRETARY): $33,749 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 1619 Freedom School believes that for children who have been marginalized in our society that education is a revolutionary act. We believe our children are capable of achieving the same as any other child as long as they are given the resources they need to succeed.
What it reported doing in 2024
The after school program provided after school reading assistance to 50 students from Waterloo Community School District. Students receive literacy instruction from certified teachers in small group sessions and one-on-one. The 1619 Freedom Schools summer program provided literacy and art programming to 40 students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Cannot be determined from the filing. The filing does not provide enough consistent spending detail to tell whether the nonprofit works directly or through others.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 87
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 68
- Sustainability: 37
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.1%; rating input score 90
- Program expense ratio: 82.5%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $121.74 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 80%; rating input score 80; 1st 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: -9.2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.37; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 15.3%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 74.2% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 51.2% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 77% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 90.1% of revenue deployed · 82.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $393K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $39K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 39 of 41 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 7 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 23/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Functional expense sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Part IX FeesForServicesOther column sum did not reconcile in the filed values.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.