Charter School Partners

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
262702539
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6124182935
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,036,590
Expenses
$995,648
Assets
$832,399
Liabilities
$7,701

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Al Fan (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Al Fan (Executive Director): $78,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of Charter School Partners is to nurture and grow high performing charter schools in Minnesota that close the achievement gap and demonstrate nationally recognized excellence in academics and business. Charter School Partners has two overreaching goals (1) to close the achievement gap between white and low-income, minority students and (2) to increase the number of high performing charters in the state.

What it reported doing in 2014

Nuturing and growing high quality charter schools in Minnesota striving to close Minnesota's achievement gap and ensure every child in Minnesota has the opportunity to attain an education that allows him or her to succeed in life - no matter what income or zip code.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% 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

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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.3%; rating input score 87
  • Program expense ratio: 90.9%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: 3.9%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.84; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.8%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -22.9% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 19.8% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.3% of revenue deployed · 90.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $905K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $78K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2010 to 2014
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.