Chesterton Academy of St. George
Legal name: Chesterton Foundation of St George
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 874702553
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2022–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
- Location
- Jackson, MI, United States
- Phone
- (517) 295-3735
- Rating
- 71
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $431,853
- Expenses
- $449,745
- Assets
- $8,921
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Matthew Anderson (President)
- RJ Lomas (Executive Director)
- Joseph Gruber (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Matthew Anderson (President): $71,846 total reported compensation
- John Paul Hendrickson (Secretary/ Treasurer): $46,031 total reported compensation
- RJ Lomas (Executive Director): $32,083 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of the Chesterton Academy of St. George is to foster a Culture of Life by forming a new generation of joyful leaders and saints, educated in the classical tradition and grounded in the truths of the Catholic faith. Inspired by Saint Pope John Paul II, we take as our motto _Cultura Vitae_ , the culture of life. We make it our mission to prepare our students to triumph over the materialism and despair that pervade our culture and to accept our Lord's offer to have life and have it abundantly. Our classical curriculum combines a broad, liberal arts education with a strong emphasis on the development of Christian virtues and an appreciation of beauty. Through our Three Pillars Model, we form our students in: Intellect.
What it reported doing in 2024
The second major program achievement of the organization was the further development of the curriculum according to the standards of the Chesterton Schools Network. Acting in accordance with its minimal technology policy, the organization continued to invest in books for the use of its students. Furthermore, the organization also made a significant investment in an inventory of chemicals and equipment for a new Chemistry class. In order to develop its faculty and staff, the organization also sent it's faculty and staff to a summer conference with the Chesterton Schools Network. At this conference, faculty and staff were equipped with new knowledge and methods that allowed them to continue the mission of the school.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Affiliate-supported. 78% of the money available for current operations came from contributions from related organizations.
- 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
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 54
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 26
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 58.7%; rating input score 59
- Program expense ratio: 56.4%; rating input score 56
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.51 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th 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: Limited
- 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: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -4.1%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.02; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 33.3%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 23% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -55.6% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 58.7% of revenue deployed · 56.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $254K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 56/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.