Bright Schoolhouse
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 931599825
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2025–2025
- Forms available
- Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2025, Form 990-N 2023
- Location
- West Linn, OR, USA
- Phone
- 4062126439
- Rating
- 59
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $303,957
- Expenses
- $95,185
- Assets
- $156
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
3 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Allison Morton (President)
- Nicholas Morton (Treasurer and Vice President)
People named in this filing
- Allison Morton (President)
- Nicholas Morton (Treasurer and Vice President)
- Cynthia Goodman (Secretary)
Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of Bright Schoolhouse is to operate a Kindergarten through fifth grade microschool for up to 30 students. However, over the course of 2025 it was recognized that this concept was not going to work as originally planned and the market would not support it. We are in the process of winding-up the operations of Bright Schoolhouse and we will be permanently closing down in the first half of 2026. Most wind-up tasks have already been completed as of March 10, 2026.
What it reported doing in 2025
We were able to successfully enroll three new students, who would have begun school in September 2025. However, given the lack of additional enrollment we let them know we would not be opening and refunded deposits, so that they could seek education elsewhere.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and revenue comfortably covers expenses. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 51
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 30
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 31.1%; rating input score 31
- Program expense ratio: 99.9%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 0%; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 68.7%; rating input score 95; 95th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: 66% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -199.7% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 31.1% of revenue deployed · 99.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $95K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 3 people listed
- Consistency: 18 of 18 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 31/100.
- High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.