Communities In Schools
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 581289174
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Arlington, VA, US
- Phone
- 703-519-8999
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Single Organization Support
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $71,027,341
- Expenses
- $74,476,155
- Assets
- $98,716,824
- Liabilities
- $3,496,431
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
38 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- REY SALDANA (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- REY SALDANA (PRESIDENT): $582,638 total reported compensation
- HEATHER CLAWSON (CHIEF, PROGRAM & INNOVATION): $356,447 total reported compensation
- CHARLES THOMPSON (CHIEF EXTERNAL ENGAGEMENT OFFICER): $318,490 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 surround students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life.
What it reported doing in 2024
Advocacy - educating legislators, public officials, and the general public on a nonpartisan basis on the types of and benefits of public policies conducive to improving public education, by means of research, publications, lectures and legislative involvement.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Affiliate network. The nonprofit sent 63% of its reported program spending through affiliated organizations.
The verdict
STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 91
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 96.8%; rating input score 97
- Program expense ratio: 90.5%; rating input score 91
- Fundraising efficiency: $20.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Pass
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- 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: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -4.9%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.33; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.4%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 10.7% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 96.8% of revenue deployed · 90.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $67.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $583K · 38 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.3M reported
- Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 9 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: 34 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 16 filed related-organization links
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 58/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 49/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.