Compass High School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 900926046
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2015–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Belmont, CA, USA
- Phone
- 6504372100
- Rating
- 69
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Secondary, High School
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,261,871
- Expenses
- $2,160,802
- Assets
- $1,800,332
- Liabilities
- $572,927
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- Doug Killin (Head of School): $185,000 total reported compensation
- Andrea Adelmann (CFO): $40,919 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
At Compass, social and emotional learning is as important as academic achievement. We teach to students strengths, ensuring academic growth and success with self-advocacy and learning skills, meeting students where they are while propelling them forward. Our unique teaching model leads to independent thinking and increased self-confidence in each student, preparing them for life after high school.
What it reported doing in 2024
The Organization provided college preparatory course, individualized curriculum tailored to provide extra support, intensive academic and social remediation, specialized services such as language and reading intervention, and a safe and nurturing school climate. The Organization provided an array of programs to prepare students for transition to higher education, jobs, and independent living. The Organization acquired donations from individuals and foundations to support general operations and for facilities and the experiential learning programs.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 91% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and program spending has declined or grown slowly.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 59
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.9%; rating input score 61
- Program expense ratio: 65.8%; rating input score 66
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.59 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: 4.5%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.83; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.5%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 60.9% of revenue deployed · 65.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $185K · 8 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 33/100.