Thayer Academy

Overview

Mission

College preparatory educational institution for grades 5 through 12. Affinity and alliance groups support connection, identity, and belonging within a diverse community. Traditionally, affinity groups bring together individuals who share a specific identity, while alliance groups welcome those who wish to support and learn alongside others. These groups foster understanding, empathy, and community through dialogue and collaboration. At Thayer, all students are welcome to join, listen, and grow together through these inclusive spaces. The list below includes many of our most active groups, but there is always space for new groups to emerge, and others are created or operate on an annual basis. Upper School Affinity & Alliance Groups.

What it reported doing in 2024

Summer programs offered to all students to further enhance the school's mission on a broader front (ie arts, crafts, sports, and other specialized programs).

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 88% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042105781
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Website reviewed
Jun 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Headquarters
Braintree, MA, United States
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education

Official website

Request a diligence report

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 83.1%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 95%; rating input score 95; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited
  • Public monitoring controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Public policy transparency: 0 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Public financial transparency: 0 of 5 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Impact reporting controls: 1 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 14
  • Public relationship transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
  • Public governance controls: 1 of 4 controls in place; rating input score 25
  • Zakat policy transparency: Limited

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.8%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Operating reserve ratio: 3.41; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.41; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 83.7% of revenue deployed · 83.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 22 of 22 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $46.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $863K · 30 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 annual filings from 2009 to 2024
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link