Bridges Preparatory School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
460847332
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Beaufort, SC, USA
Phone
8439827737
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,566,412
Expenses
$18,783,734
Assets
$52,617,783
Liabilities
$45,164,781

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

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • GARY MCCULLOCH (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $201,627 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 bridges preparatory school mission is to provide students equal access to a high quality k-12 whole child education that maximizes academic excellence and strength of character in a student-centered learning environment created by a faculty of lifelong learners.

What it reported doing in 2024

In fy 2025, bridges preparatory school created a student-centered learning environment, developed to maximize academic excellence and strength of character for 1,469 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 93% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.2%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 69.8%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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: 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: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.2%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.8; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.86; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.2% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.2% of revenue deployed · 69.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $202K · 10 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.