Amani Public Charter School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 274508796
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Mount Vernon, NY, USA
- Phone
- 9146682553
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,759,767
- Expenses
- $7,527,064
- Assets
- $5,506,826
- Liabilities
- $5,399,482
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DEBRA STERN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- JENNIFER CIAVIRELLA (PRINCIPAL): $146,828 total reported compensation
- BRUCE TANNER (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $137,259 total reported compensation
- ADAM ABRAMOWITZ (TEACHER): $128,953 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 mission of the amani public charter school (apcs) is to provide 100% of mount vernon students who attend the school from the 5th through 8th grade with the academic and critical thinking skills necessary to succeed in competitive high school programs, college and the career of their choice.
What it reported doing in 2024
1. Academic performance: high percentage of students accepted into competitive high schools through improvement in standardized test scores and increased proficiency in core subjects. 2. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills including implementation of innovative curriculum focusing on analytical skills, student success in academic competitions or challenges, and positive feedback from high schools on amani graduates' critical thinking abilities. 3. Consistent growth in student enrollment, potentially reaching capacity with lengthening waitlists for admission, and positive word-of-mouth leading to strong community reputation and interest.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 91% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 18
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 83.9%; rating input score 84
- Program expense ratio: 75.5%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.09 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
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: 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: -11.4%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.98; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 83.9% of revenue deployed · 75.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 14 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $350K reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.
- High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.