The Willow School New Orleans

Legal name: Advocates for Art-based Education Corp

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203814839
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
New Orleans, LA, US
Phone
504.304.3960
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$32,286,787
Expenses
$30,517,988
Assets
$24,554,234
Liabilities
$6,010,618

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GARY SOLOMON (PRESIDENT)
  • JENNIFER MCGOWAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • NICOLETTE LONDON (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • NICOLETTE LONDON (CEO): $253,972 total reported compensation
  • CHARMAINE DAVIS (CFO): $151,224 total reported compensation
  • ULYSES COLLINS (DIRECTOR OF CAMPUS SAFETY): $146,912 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 Willow School provides a holistic, arts-integrated education that prepares students for success in college and beyond.

What it reported doing in 2024

Elementary and secondary educational and pupil support services - 2,220 students enrolled in grade k to 12 participating in arts-based education with positive discipline programs and utilizing the latest neurological development and brain research as well as a systematic approach to literacy and numeracy instruction. Support services include social workers, guidance counselors, curriculum coordinators, and a nurse.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 89% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.8%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $302.42 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 66th 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: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.5%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.8; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.6%; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 90.8% of revenue deployed · 96.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $29.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $254K · 16 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.1M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.