Chesapeake Montessori Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521192684
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Annapolis, MD, USA
Phone
4107574740
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,848,070
Expenses
$2,927,161
Assets
$3,576,042
Liabilities
$3,380,353

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • J ATKINSON (PRESIDENT)
  • SARAH DANIELL (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT WIRTS (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $192,519 total reported compensation
  • KRISTINA LAMB (FINANCE DIRECTOR & HR): $62,634 total reported compensation
  • AICHA LOMPO (DIRECTOR): $6,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To guide children and adolescents in their development to become confident, respectful, kind, and independent individuals with well-developed powers of reasoning and a joy for learning. Using montessori theory and practice of individualized learning in a whole-school community, we are committed to creating rich and healthy environments indoors and outdoors that provide intellectual, academic, social, and emotional preparation for life.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instructional and educational services: young children's community ("ycc") - the school has two young children's communities that provide environments rich with experiences. Classrooms are intentionally designed to serve the needs of 18 months through 36 month old children. Through the guidance of one trained teacher and one assistant, children in the ycc program work to develop language and fine motor skills as well as socialization skills. In addition, the children learn about self-care and care of the classroom environment. The ycc program is designed to encourage children to freely express themselves and discover their potential through guidance and modeling from adults. As they become more capable, the children will continue to explore and discover their abilities as independent beings. Primary community - the school has two primary communities that serve the needs of children between the ages of 3 through 6.5 years. Children in this age range possess a strong internal drive to explore the world around them and have a tremendous capacity for learning. Through the guidance of their teacher and assistant, the children are able to make independent, age-appropriate choices in the areas of self-care, language, mathematics, art, etc. The children also develop their sensory and communication skills. Elementary community - the elementary community is for children between the ages of 6 and 12, and is designed to meet the needs of the child in his or her phase of development. Students at this age explore reasons and causes and use their powers of abstraction to learn about things which they cannot perceive directly. The elementary community program also provides an opportunity for students to explore and research those areas of interest. Adolescent program community - the adolescent program community is designed for students between the ages of 12 and 15 years old to meet the needs of early teens in the midst of becoming young adults. The program makes learning relevant, incorporating project-based learning in nearly all of the courses of study and disciplinary subjects offered. As a result, students are engaged in their learning and in the community endeavors as a whole. It is a place where a student's actions and interests can and do contribute to the betterment of the school.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 97% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 29
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.8%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.8%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.22; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.95; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.6% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.3% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.8% of revenue deployed · 77.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $193K · 13 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes grants and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 44/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.