Compass for Lifelong Discovery

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
840613297
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Carbondale, CO, USA
Phone
9709234646
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,061,342
Expenses
$7,098,593
Assets
$18,645,478
Liabilities
$8,993,625

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL HAYES (CO-INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CASEY JEAN WHITE (CO-INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • CASEY JEAN WHITE (CO-INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $139,755 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL HAYES (CO-INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $134,176 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 foster lifelong learning and to empower individuals to take responsibility for themselves, their learning and their community.

What it reported doing in 2024

Compass is the lead non-profit organization for three schools. The aspen community school (acs) is a public k-8 charter school of the aspen school district and graduated 14 students this year. The carbondale community school (ccs) is a public k-8 charter school of the roaring fork school district and graduated 17 students this year. Though acs (compass original school) opened as a private school in 1970, both acs and ccs have been public charter schools since 1995. The compass board of directors sets policy and provides leadership and oversight for the projects. Compass administrative staff provide administrative, fundraising, human resource, and accounting services, which allow the school to focus on their primary mission, education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 77% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 62
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.6%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 74.8%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $36.37 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.9%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.63; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.48; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.6% of revenue deployed · 74.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $140K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 22/100.