Cottonwood Day School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 472779835
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2016–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015
- Location
- Bozeman, MT, USA
- Phone
- 4065863409
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $834,307
- Expenses
- $1,171,926
- Assets
- $228,186
- Liabilities
- $34,669
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MEGHAN LARSON (PRESIDENT)
- AMY WOOD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- AMY WOOD (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $87,381 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 cottonwood day school, our mission is to support students with learning challenges and partner with families, so students can reach their full potential academically, socially, and therapeutically in a supportive and inclusive environment.
What it reported doing in 2024
Cottonwood day school in bozeman, mt is the first and only private, nonprofit elementary school for students with learning disabilities in the state of Montana. Students with learning disabilities need a specific learning approach to achieve academic success. Cottonwood day school provides a unique and exceptional learning environment to students with learning disabilities. Cottonwood day school's specialized approach to instruction takes into consideration that each student's learning style is unique. Our comprehensive team of reading, elementary, special education teachers and speech and language therapists work collaboratively to ensure that the goals and objectives of each child's learning plan are met. Students with language based disabilities like dyslexia and other learning disabilities typically have difficulty with word recognition, decoding and spelling. These fundamental difficulties impact reading comprehension. Research indicates that scaffolded, multisensory programs are successful in teaching students with learning disabilities. The fundamentals of language and reading. At cottonwood day school, we integrate a multisensory approach across all academic content area subjects. Incorporating these approaches involves presenting new material and reviewing previously learned material using visual, auditory and kinesthetic methods.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 81
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 83
- Sustainability: 14
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 74.7%; rating input score 75
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -40.5%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.19; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.5%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 12.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 16.6% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 74.7% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $875K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $87K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 4/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 36/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.