Carolina Day School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
560125490
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Asheville, NC, USA
Phone
8282740757
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$26,811,284
Expenses
$23,762,602
Assets
$40,303,785
Liabilities
$7,679,712

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

Leadership & pay

25 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • BRETT FUHRMAN (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $556,083 total reported compensation
  • ELAINE KREUZ (DIR. OF ADVANCEMENT): $205,747 total reported compensation
  • TAUNI BUTTERFIELD (ATHLETICS DIRECTOR): $170,012 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To inspire students to become innovative thinkers who communicate with intelligence and clarity, create with vision and purpose, and act with courage and compassion to confidently make a meaningful difference in the world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Carolina day school is a model of academic excellence, a leader in curricular innovation, and is an accredited, co-educational, secular, independent day school. In the 2024-25 school year, 598 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Carolina day school delivers a rich, differentiated, personally rigorous, whole-child academic experience that fosters accelerated learning, and provides supports when necessary to academically capable, motivated and inquisitive students. Experiential, deep learning is hallmark to the program. Exceptional faculty deeply know their students, who distinguish themselves not only academically, but also artistically, athletically, and socially in a community built on trust, integrity, and kindness. The key school, established in 1997, is a division of carolina day school. The key school provides educational opportunities for bright students with language-based learning differences. The key school's teacher training program is accredited by the international multisensory structured language education council, the academy of orton- gillingham practitioners and educators, and the international dyslexia association.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 81% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 83% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.6%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 84.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 3rd 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: 99.4%; rating input score 99; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: 11.4%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.7; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.6% of revenue deployed · 84.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $20.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $556K · 25 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.5M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 37 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 24/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.