Cherokee Charter Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
820916738
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022
Location
Canton, GA, USA
Phone
6783857322
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,489,718
Expenses
$9,622,204
Assets
$21,809,468
Liabilities
$25,483,118

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

People named in this filing

  • DANNY F DUKES (BOARD CHAIR AND TREASURER)
  • DR BOB DURHAM (BOARD CHAIR)
  • NATE COCHRAN (VICE CHAIR)

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 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Cherokee charter academy will develop in its students a passion and curiosity necessary to become lifelong learners and future leaders while instilling core community values, strong character ethics, and a commitment to excellence.

What it reported doing in 2022

Cherokee charter academy provides tuition-free educational services to students from kindergarten to eighth grade who reside in the Georgia counties of cherokee, pickens, bartow, and cobb.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 97% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 88.9%; rating input score 89
  • 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -13.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.27; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.17; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 44.8% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $1.7M reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2017 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.