Esperanza Academy Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
232853988
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, US
Phone
(215) 999-0203
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$35,716,066
Expenses
$41,214,849
Assets
$145,116,561
Liabilities
$162,593,769

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Evelyn Nunez (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEANA G DAVIS (Lead Director Of Instruction): $288,950 total reported compensation
  • TANIA DIAZ (Director of Instruction): $218,036 total reported compensation
  • JORGE CALIXTO (Dir. of Student Exp. & PART.): $205,844 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Esperanza Academy Charter School is dedicated to providing a quality education that prepares critically thinking, socially capable, spiritually sensitive and culturally aware young adults who can use English, Spanish and technology as tools for success in the 21st century.

What it reported doing in 2024

In 1987 the Hispanic Clergy of Philadelphia founded and incorporated the non-profit organization Nueva Esperanza, Inc. (NEI), dba Esperanza, to provide support to Hispanic communities. For more than 30 years NEI's efforts have focused on creating opportunities for Hispanic children and families living in Philadelphia's Hunting Park community. NEI's intentional focus on creating quality education delivery systems and facilities include founding Esperanza Academy Charter School as a continued effort to raise the economic and social levels of the Hispanic community through quality education. Esperanza Academy Charter School is a charter school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The School serves grades one and six through twelve. The School was established and operates under the provisions enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1997. In September 2000 NEI received a charter for the opening of Esperanza Academy Charter School and is currently operating under a charter school contract ending on June 30, 2019. Esperanza Academy Charter School has financial accountability and control over all activities related to the students' education. The School receives funding from local, state, and federal government sources and must comply with the requirements of these funding source entities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 84% 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.
  • 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some related-organization disclosures are missing.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.5%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 83.6%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th 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: 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; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -15.4%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.52; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.12; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 24.9% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 96.5% of revenue deployed · 83.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $34.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $289K · 15 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $882K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 11 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.