Achieve Charter School of Paradise

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202826797
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chico, CA, USA
Phone
5308724100
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$6,638,928
Expenses
$5,967,933
Assets
$8,998,112
Liabilities
$1,352,984

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KIM GUZZETTI (PRESIDENT)
  • VERONICA SALINAS (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CASEY TAYLOR (SUPERINTENDENT): $126,561 total reported compensation
  • KORIN BABER (CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER): $115,803 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Achieve charter school: where everyone belongs, where everyone is challenged and supported, and where everyone makes the world a better place.

What it reported doing in 2024

Achieve charter school is a network of k-8 public schools committed to quality standards-based instruction through individual learning opportunities. Our character-building small school environments focus on building resilience and empowering every student to be a positive contributor to society. Achieve currently operates achieve charter school of chico, a kindergarten through 8th grade school authorized by the chico unified school district, and achieve charter school of paradise, a kindergarten through 7th grade school authorized by the paradise unified school district. Achieve also holds a 9th-12th grade high school charter, achieve charter high school, authorized by the butte county office of education, that was non-operational, awaiting its rebuild in paradise.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 90% 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: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 10.1%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.51; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.2% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.9% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $127K · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $450K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.