Bezos Academy

Legal name: Day 1 Academies

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
843907778
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2019
Location
Mercer Island, WA, US
Phone
8443023540
Rating
68
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$121,994,989
Expenses
$98,338,468
Assets
$125,512,781
Liabilities
$6,994,409

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL GEORGE (PRESIDENT (THRU 10/24), CHAIRMAN)
  • MIGUEL ROQUE (COO/CTO (THRU 10/24), PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHAEL GEORGE (PRESIDENT (THRU 10/24), CHAIRMAN): $691,608 total reported compensation
  • MIGUEL ROQUE (COO/CTO (THRU 10/24), PRESIDENT): $590,145 total reported compensation
  • MICHAEL ABELLO (CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER, VP): $460,885 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

All children deserve the great start that excellent early education provides, including in under-resourced communities.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 2024, day 1 academies operated twenty-five schools with capacity for 1,620 students. Also in 2024, day 1 academies continued construction and development of 17 new shools for future planned openings. Day 1 academies also trained teachers and developed educational software, technology, and assessments for internal use.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 96% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 52
  • Sustainability: 67
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.4%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 77.5%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 19.4%; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.28; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 88; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 44.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 25% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 28.8% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 6 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 62.4% of revenue deployed · 77.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $76.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $692K · 15 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.5M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 14 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 18 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.