Chicago Virtual Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010863627
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2019
Location
Chicago, IL, USA
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,688,889
Expenses
$6,572,703
Assets
$3,313,930
Liabilities
$1,063,695

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Roy Hamilton (President)

People named in this filing

  • Lori Lypson (Treasurer)
  • Carolyn Levystein (Academic Chair)
  • Roy Hamilton (President)

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 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The Chicago Virtual Charter School was formed in 2006 as a tuition-free, public charter school that provides an individualized, high-quality education where parents parter with certified teacher.

What it reported doing in 2019

The school is a unique hybrid model of instruction whre a portion of the student learning time is spent in a traditional classrom and a portion of their learning is done via distance learning under the supervision of a licensed teacher. The school provides the curriculum, materials and computers for students. The school serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 99% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.8%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 91%; rating input score 91
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 7 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: 14.5%; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.8% of revenue deployed · 91% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2009 to 2019
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 39/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.