Charter Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943314538
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Sebastopol, CA, USA
Phone
7078248430
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Reported finances

Revenue
$248,286
Expenses
$243,063
Assets
$9,352,649
Liabilities
$4,908,121

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Ashley Schroth-Cary (Vice President)
  • Amy Hui Johnson (President)

People named in this filing

  • James Korzo (Director)
  • Ashley Schroth-Cary (Vice President)
  • Amy Hui Johnson (President)

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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To provide facilities and resources to charter school programs which use the Waldorf Curriculum

What it reported doing in 2024

The Foundation is a non-profit corporation formed in 1998 to raise money for the creation and ongoing support of Sebastopol Charter School. The funding for the Foundation comes principally from the pledge donations of our school families, along with various fundraising programs and events throughout the year. The Foundation holds a $4.28 million loan from the purchase and construction of the property. The Foundation leases 18 acres of the propertys 20 acres to the School and 1 acre to the Ceres Community Project. The Foundation also raises funds to benefit the School through an Annual Giving Pledge Campaign and various fundraising events throughout the year. Funds that are not granted to the School are saved and/or invested for future property improvements.Funding for the Foundation comes principally from the pledge donations of our school families, along with various fundraising programs and events throughout the year. In the 2021-2026 school year, 169 of our 197 school families collectively pledged ~$270,210 to support the Foundations mission.The Foundation makes an annual grant to the School of $150,000 and saves all additional funds raised beyond that amount for its long-term facilities needs. In this way, the Foundation ensures the Schools fiscal health is secure, there is a financial backstop in place for times of crisis and an endowment is built for the ongoing support of the Schools programs.Support of Sebastopol Charter School is support for the students and their families enrolled in the School. The School had 281 students enrolled in the 2024-2025 school year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 86% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 70
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.1%; rating input score 94
  • Program expense ratio: 95.7%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $19.53 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 29
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 2.1%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 38.48; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.52; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -7.9% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.1% of revenue deployed · 95.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 2 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $233K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.