Denver Families for Public Schools
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 853570260
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Denver, CO, USA
- Phone
- 7206074310
- Rating
- 80
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,770,000
- Expenses
- $1,354,751
- Assets
- $1,452,456
- Liabilities
- $52,106
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CLARENCE BURTON (BOARD MEMBER THRU 12/24; CEO)
- PATRICK DONOVAN (PRESIDENT AS OF 12/11/24)
Highest reported compensation
- CLARENCE BURTON (BOARD MEMBER THRU 12/24; CEO): $245,424 total reported compensation
- LELA JOHNSTON (CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER): $199,998 total reported compensation
- CODY OSTENSON (DIRECTOR OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS): $140,816 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To mobilize our community into action in support of a shared vision for a reimagined public education system in denver.
What it reported doing in 2024
Denver families action's programming focuses on building a pipeline of diverse and effective education advocates and leaders through community organizing and leadership development. Actioneers is a field canvassing program that mobilizes dps families, educators, and community members to conduct voter outreach. The lead fellowship partners with leaders from across the denver public schools community and equips participants with the knowledge, skills, and relationships needed to navigate complex systems, engage in effective advocacy, and support meaningful change in denver's public schools.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 57
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 60.4%; rating input score 60
- Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $72.18 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- 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; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 23.5%; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.07; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 40.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 24.6% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 53.3% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 60.4% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $245K · 12 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $126K reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.