Ace Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261570590
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Jose, CA, USA
Phone
4082956008
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$21,746,259
Expenses
$17,616,996
Assets
$28,351,298
Liabilities
$18,152,927

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KENNEDY HILARIO (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • KENNEDY HILARIO (CEO): $316,140 total reported compensation
  • ZOE DUSKIN (SENIOR DIRECTOR): $265,430 total reported compensation
  • ALMA BRAVO (SENIOR DIRECTOR): $241,259 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Ace creates a welcoming community focused on growth to help students, especially those who have been neglected, see they belong in school. By learning optimism, self-confidence and ambition, students are poised to thrive in college and beyond.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provided educational opportunities to the surrounding community. The school served approximately 912 students in the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 91% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 95
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.8%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 80.5%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2,194.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.61; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.64; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.8% of revenue deployed · 80.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $316K · 16 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $1M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.