Elements Academy

Legal name: Elements Academy Incorporated

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
873960951
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Braintree, MA, USA
Phone
6173022483
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$305,014
Expenses
$338,584
Assets
$295,191
Liabilities
$412,792

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

Leadership & pay

3 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Heather DiNino (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Heather DiNino (Executive Director): $7,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Elements Academy is a nonprofit PreK-12 Microschool and Family Wellness Community for curious and creative children and families.

What it reported doing in 2024

The organization operated a microschool serving approximately 20 students in grades K12, providing a supportive, relationship-centered alternative education environment. Students were enrolled either full-time as private school students or part-time as homeschoolers receiving supplemental educational support. The program emphasized individualized, interest-led learning; social-emotional development; and real-world, experiential education. Through a flexible structure and small-group setting, the program supported students in developing curiosity, creativity, and a positive relationship with learning, while fostering a safe, inclusive, and affirming community for students with diverse learning needs, families from the LGBTQIA+ community, and families seeking a values-aligned education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.7%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.87; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.4; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -19.2% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -15.8% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 40.7% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
  • Where the money goes: 96.7% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $295K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $7K · 3 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.