Colorado Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
840421874
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
303-914-2553
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$54,221,616
Expenses
$51,548,173
Assets
$141,076,412
Liabilities
$15,130,145

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • MIKE DAVIS (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $589,866 total reported compensation
  • WHITNEY JOHNSON (CFOO): $298,613 total reported compensation
  • KATE MCDONNELL (DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT): $238,164 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Colorado Academy's mission is to create a vibrant community of learners who are curious, creative, and compassionate, and who are prepared to lead lives of purpose and impact.

What it reported doing in 2024

Summer and other programs for approximately 2,700 students includes a traditional summer camp, specialty camps, and the horizons program. The summer program at Colorado academy, founded in 1951, provides a variety of activities to more than 500 kids (ages 4 through 18) for eight weeks each summer. The programs are fun, engaging, and challenging-both intellectually and physically. Horizons at Colorado academy is one of over 60 affiliates around the country that provides extensive enrichment programming for underserved youth in and around denver. Since its founding in 1998, the program has grown extensively. In 2025, enrollment was at 225 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 84% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.6%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 84.2%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 31st 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: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • 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: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 4.9%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.74; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 81.6% of revenue deployed · 84.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 24 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $43.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $590K · 32 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 34 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.