Cape Fear Montessori Village Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461128148
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Wilmington, NC, USA
Phone
9107954860
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,763,426
Expenses
$2,699,290
Assets
$3,447,012
Liabilities
$2,249,840

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Nicole Smith (President)
  • Whitney Wilson (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Alicia Rheel (Head of School): $111,616 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Cape Fear Montessori Village operates the Island Montessori Charter School, a K-8 public charter elementary school committed to enabling children to learn and grow at their own pace by offering a developmentally appropriate and challenging academic Montessori environment that models grace and courtesy and fosters a peaceful community of lifelong learners.

What it reported doing in 2024

Island Montessori Charter School is a non-profit, K-8 public charter elementary school committed to providing a unique child-centered environment, using the internationally recognized curriculum of pioneering educator, Dr. Maria Montessori. Montessori philosophy believes a thoughtfully prepared environment fosters independence, curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. Island Montessori regards education with respect to the whole child, which involves education, socialization, and acculturation. To that end, the School's purpose, mission, core values and code of ethics, acknowledge and appreciate individuality, welcome and benefit from diversity, and celebrate the harmony of this vibrant community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 94% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.9%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 83.7%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2,250.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th 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: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 81.8%; rating input score 82; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.3%; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.28; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.65; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.9% of revenue deployed · 83.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 11 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $112K · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and related organizations
  • Filing history: 11 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.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 42/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 15/100.