Denver Montessori Society

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
840536045
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Denver, CO, USA
Phone
3037569441
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,975,002
Expenses
$10,373,225
Assets
$18,821,593
Liabilities
$12,827,741

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIE BRAGDON (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $338,400 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTINE FABIAN (DIR. OF FINANCIAL OPERATIONS (PART YEAR)): $158,189 total reported compensation
  • ANNE HEWETSON (DEAN OF PROGRAM): $144,386 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Montessori school of denver (msd) is a dynamic educational environment empowering students to use diverse knowledge and experiences to reach their full potential and do good in the world. Msd is accredited by acis and the american montessori society.

What it reported doing in 2024

The denver montessori society is a nonprofit corporation doing business as montessori school of denver. The school is an accredited (acis and ams), coeducational, nonsectarian day school, using the montessori teaching philosophy and incorporating best educational practices for children two through fourteen years of age. The school begins with our toddler program for students two and three years of age. The primary program serves students ages three through six or preschool through kindergarten. The lower elementary program is 1st grade through 3rd grade students, the upper elementary program is for 4th through 5th grade students, and the middle school program is 6th through 8th grade students. In 2025, we had 12 students graduate from 8th grade.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 91% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 93% 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: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.5%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: -4%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.81; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.68; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.4%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.9% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.5% of revenue deployed · 80.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $338K · 23 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $511K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 36/100.