Dana Hall School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042103562
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Wellesley, MA, USA
Phone
7812353010
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$40,943,815
Expenses
$39,400,764
Assets
$208,301,704
Liabilities
$43,833,608

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

Leadership & pay

31 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LEE FERGUSON FRECHETTE (PRESIDENT OF THE CORPORATION)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHERINE BRADLEY (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $598,571 total reported compensation
  • CHARLIE BRESLIN (CHIEF OPERATING/FINANCIAL OFFICER): $276,662 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINA BASKETT (CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $270,934 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Dana hall is an independent boarding and day school for girls in grades five through twelve.

What it reported doing in 2024

Dana hall school is an independent boarding and day school, providing education to approximately 460 students in grades five through twelve. Dana hall is committed to fostering excellence in academics, the arts, and athletics within a vibrant, caring and inclusive community. With emphasis on integrity, leadership, diversity, and service as well as on respect for self and others, dana hall provides its students with a unique opportunity to prepare themselves for the challenges and choices they will face as women and citizens of the world.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 80% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 80% 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

SUPPORTED - 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 93
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96%; rating input score 96; 30th 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: NotApplicable
    • 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: 3.8%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.29; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72% of revenue deployed · 80.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 24 of 25 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $31.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $599K · 31 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 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: 7 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.