Elgin Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
362205984
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Elgin, IL, USA
Phone
8476950300
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,686,606
Expenses
$8,618,323
Assets
$10,943,324
Liabilities
$3,522,189

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DOUGLAS SEPT (ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL): $144,945 total reported compensation
  • PAUL DRUZINSKY (INTERIM HEAD OF SCHOOL): $120,641 total reported compensation
  • SETH HANFORD (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $114,034 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Elgin academy is a preschool through grade 12 independent college preparatory, coeducational day school committed to academic excellence and developing the full potential of each of its students.

What it reported doing in 2023

Operation of an educational institution.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 91% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 65% for direct work, and 35% for grants.

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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.6%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 63.7%; rating input score 64
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: Scored; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: -51.6%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.4%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -6.7% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.6% of revenue deployed · 63.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $145K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 46/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.