Explorer West an Independent Middle School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 911705420
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Seattle, WA, USA
- Phone
- 2069350495
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,891,193
- Expenses
- $3,526,998
- Assets
- $9,524,348
- Liabilities
- $3,358,380
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DAVID KING (BOARD PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- BARBARA FRAILEY (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $176,532 total reported compensation
- CAROL LAMOTTE (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS): $81,142 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We empower young people to explore and grow their unique intellectual, ethical, and creative capabilities, and to treasure diversity and growth in others.
What it reported doing in 2024
Middle school education grades 6, 7 & 8 with a current enrollment of 108 students. Explorer west produces students with a global perspective who will actively contribute to a sustainable future. The school offers the benefit of small class sizes and rigorous academics and the entire community supports values that promote a strong and healthy learning environment. Challenging and supported classroom content and experiences encourage all students to actively engage in their learning, giving them tools and skills they will need as members of their communities. Our immersive outdoor education program expands the learning outside of the classroom and teaches real world skills and strengths that students use for a lifetime. Our school culture is based upon respect and focuses on the core values of integrity, confidence, creativity and inquiry, and personal and community responsibility.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 75% 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 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.
- 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 liabilities are high compared with assets.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 77
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 58
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 79.7%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 88.3%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.3 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- 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: 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: NotApplicable
- 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: 9.4%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.7; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 79.7% of revenue deployed · 88.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $177K · 16 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 27/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.