Cookson Hills
Legal name: Cookson Hills Christian School Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 730665495
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Kansas, OK, United States
- Phone
- (918) 948-6300
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Residential Care & Adult Day Programs
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,036,837
- Expenses
- $3,925,354
- Assets
- $15,713,930
- Liabilities
- $438,475
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
11 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- PAUL JOHNSON (PRESIDENT/BOARD CHAIRMAN)
- STEPHANIE ELLIOTT (VICE-PRESIDENT)
- RON RILEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- RON RILEY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $107,281 total reported compensation
- BRANDON JACKSON (TREASURER/DIRECTOR BUSINESS OPERAT.): $84,344 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Cookson Hills provides home, school, and therapy for kids who are at risk, and it teaches the life-changing hope of Jesus. Cookson Hills is committed to faithful stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. Through the generosity of individuals, churches, foundations, and other partners, we are able to provide care for every child who qualifies, regardless of economic circumstances. We remain rooted in our mission to share the life-changing hope of Jesus, while managing our resources wisely and remaining debt-free. []( 2025 Gratitude Report. Hugs at service learning day Learning to Serve from the Very Beginning At Cookson Hills Christian School, service isn’t an extra activity—it’s part of who we are. Our mission is to educate Cookson Hills students academically, spiritually,….
What it reported doing in 2024
We believe that every child needs a home that provides love, structure, and spiritual guidance. At cookson hills, kids move into a home with married houseparents (trained in trauma-informed care) along with house brothers and sisters. A healthy family where each child is a valued member is the best place to learn how to cooperate, love, and respect others.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 91% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 97
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 41
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 94.5%; rating input score 95
- Program expense ratio: 80.7%; rating input score 81
- Fundraising efficiency: $13.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- 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: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -29.3%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 4; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.9%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -3.6% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 94.5% of revenue deployed · 80.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $107K · 11 people listed
- Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 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.
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 48/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.