Bridges Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
954659439
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Studio City, CA, USA
Phone
8185061091
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,858,423
Expenses
$11,207,412
Assets
$16,626,985
Liabilities
$17,637,023

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARK LONG (CEO/INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARK LONG (CEO/INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL): $290,005 total reported compensation
  • ANNA SCHAERF (ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL): $161,715 total reported compensation
  • DEBORAH LAZER (HIGH SCHOOL DIRECTOR): $139,395 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Bridges academy is dedicated to understanding and educating gifted and highly gifted students with learning differences (twice-exceptional or 2e students) and fostering a successful academic and social experience for our students and the broader community. (continued on schedule o)

What it reported doing in 2024

Bridges academy is a los angeles-based college preparatory, co-educational, independent school for gifted and highly gifted twice-exceptional students, offering two day schools, (grades 4-12) and online high school (grades 9-12).bridges academy provides a rigorous, innovative curriculum that emphasizes the strengths, gifts, and talents of its students, while proactively offering options and tools to address their learning differences. Our core values include embracing cognitive diversity, emphasizing strengths and talents, empowering learners, and ensuring equity and access. The school prepares students for the 21st century (continued on schedule o)and its many opportunities, including university studies, and artistic and entrepreneurial endeavors.the center for twice-exceptional research and professional development educates and supports educators and the broader community in the identification, understanding and education of twice-exceptional students. By seeking out and developing best practices throughresearch, curriculum development, outreach, and teacher training, the 2e center allows development and sharing of knowledge to benefit this underserved population.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.

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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 27
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.1%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 85.4%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 27th 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: -3.2%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.48; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.06; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.1% of revenue deployed · 85.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $290K · 25 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $107K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 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 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.