Association of Christian Schools International

Legal name: ACSI Education Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300412105
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2018
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2018
Location
Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Phone
(800) 367-0798
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support
Affiliation
Religious (unspecified)

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$102,142
Expenses
$138,854
Assets
$1,195,032
Liabilities
$3,059

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Stephen Reel (Chairman/Interim CEO (part year))
  • Larry Taylor (Chairman/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Stephen Reel (Chairman/Interim CEO (part year)): $198,904 total reported compensation
  • Steve Dill (Exec Dir of ASCI Ed. Fdn): $135,048 total reported compensation
  • Kevin Buelke (CFO): $122,651 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

ACSI exists to strengthen Christian schools and equip Christian educators worldwide as they prepare students academically and inspire them to become devoted followers of Jesus Christ. Vision ACSI will continue to be a leading organization that promotes Christian education and provides training and resources to Christian schools and Christian educators. Our Vision 2030 builds upon our three foundational pillars (Advancing, Access, and Advocacy) through four new growth initiatives to support flourishing Christ-centered education. We will continue in bold and innovative ways, remaining committed to equipping: schools that contribute to the public good through effective teaching and learning and that are biblically sound, academically rigorous, socially engaged, and culturally relevant;.

What it reported doing in 2018

The purpose of ACSI Education Foundation is to support the work of Association of Christian Schools International.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 70% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.3%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 75.3%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 97.6%; rating input score 98; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -35.9%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.61; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 45.5%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 34.3% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.6% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 97.3% of revenue deployed · 75.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $105K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $199K · 13 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 17 of 18 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2010 to 2018
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 4 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.