Chartwell School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770119013
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Seaside, CA, USA
Phone
8313943468
Rating
88
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,252,761
Expenses
$16,097,072
Assets
$58,803,650
Liabilities
$1,099,337

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

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Danielle Patterson (Head of School): $280,544 total reported compensation
  • Alex Kopelevich (Finance Dir.): $239,259 total reported compensation
  • Jodi Amaditz (Head Lwr School): $232,530 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Chartwell School empowers bright students with language-based learning differences, including dyslexia. We do this in grades K-12 by offering them the knowledge, creativity, and skills in self advocacy and perseverance needed to thrive in college and beyond.

What it reported doing in 2024

Chartwell's high school (Grades 9-12) is a college-prepatory program and is accredited by association of schools and colleges (WASC). Students engage deeply in challenging, hands-on projects tailored to their strengths and weaknesses. Building on the three foundations of skill development, content standards, and project-based learning. The program is carefully designed to empower students with the knowledge and enthusiasm they need to move on to a lifetime of successful learning. Though a typical program may focus on credit accumulation, at the high school, the goal is to ensure that students have the skills needed to thrive in higher education. Since 2012, 100% of seniors have been accepted into the college of their choice with scholarship offers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 73% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 78% for direct work, and 22% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 84
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 83%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -21.5%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.65; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 83% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $13.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $281K · 20 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $606K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.