Catalyst Schools

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204069346
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Phone
7732957001
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$31,729,577
Expenses
$29,589,010
Assets
$21,296,960
Liabilities
$7,363,569

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GORDON HANNON (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • GORDON HANNON (CEO): $246,072 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH JAMISON-DUNN (ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL): $199,603 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL KASANG (DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION): $180,131 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Catalyst schools holistically educate the young men and women entrusted to its care by a school community committed to teaching minds and touching hearts. We teach our scholars to live a life of leadership, meaning, and purpose, and to build a world that is just and peaceful.

What it reported doing in 2024

Catalyst schools partner with urban communities to offer college-preparatory k-12 education. Each child is given a rigorous academic program suited to his or her needs. In addition, catalyst helps each child develop positive character traits that will help him or her be an asset and change agent in the community. Catalyst's goal is to provide a quality educational choice to families who experience the effects of economic difficulty and who have not been adequately served by existing educational institutions so their children will ultimately graduate from college. Catalyst has two campuses. Circle rock elementary school is a kindergarten through 8th grade school in the austin neighborhood and opened in fall 2007 in a building leased from a former private school which was purchased in fiscal year 2018. The school operates two classrooms at each grade level with approximately 511 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 95% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 90
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 86.6%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 92.7%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,632.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th 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: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 6.7%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.72; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.5% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.9% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 86.6% of revenue deployed · 92.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $27.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $246K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $257K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 42/100.