Association of Christian Schools International

Legal name: Association of Christian Schools Int'l

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
956072567
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2018
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2018
Location
Colorado Springs, CO, USA
Phone
7195286906
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,834,465
Expenses
$17,453,798
Assets
$18,742,731
Liabilities
$7,994,209

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Stephen Reel (Interim CEO (part year))
  • Larry Taylor (CEO)
  • Steve Dill (Executive Director, ACSI Education Foundation)

Highest reported compensation

  • Stephen Reel (Interim CEO (part year)): $198,904 total reported compensation
  • Mike Epp (Sr VP Global): $142,326 total reported compensation
  • Steve Babbitt (VP of Sales and Marketing): $141,674 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

ACSI strengthens Christian schools and equips Christian educators by providing member services for the world's largest community of Christian Schools and Educators. ACSI's members are dedicated to providing Christ-centered education. Member services include: connecting and encouraging Christian school leaders and educators, school accreditation and teacher certification, various student activities, tracking, analysis and communication regarding legal/legislative issues, career center/teacher placement, membership directory, and research and thought leadership activities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 81.8%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 9th 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: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Limited
    • Conducts field audits: Limited
    • May suspend future funding: Limited
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Pass
    • Requires grant agreements: Limited
    • May require repayment: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 48.8%; rating input score 49; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 67th 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: 2.1%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.07; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.43; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.7%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.7% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 81.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $14.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $199K · 24 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 35 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2010 to 2018
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 49/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Foreign grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.