Fairmount Montessori Association
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 341217313
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Cleveland Hts, OH, USA
- Phone
- 2163217571
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,816,730
- Expenses
- $6,546,010
- Assets
- $11,139,416
- Liabilities
- $1,114,486
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
17 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ROSE KELLY (CO-PRESIDENT)
- SONAL MORATSCHEK (CO-PRESIDENT)
- JOHN NEWMAN (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- KATHIE FREER (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $195,006 total reported compensation
- DEBRA J MITCHELL (DIR. OF FINANCE & OPERATIO): $148,066 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of ruffing montessori school is to employ the philosophy and methods of dr. Maria montessori to educate young people to their fullest potential, instilling a deep sense of personal independence and social responsibility. With the knowledge that they are citizens of the world, they will contribute to that world by making decisions based on the highest order of ethics and conscience.
What it reported doing in 2024
Before and after school childcare and enrichment programs (after school classes, winter break camp, spring break camp) serving approximately 110 children ages 3 years through grade 8.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 91% 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 52
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 80.2%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 85.1%; rating input score 85
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- 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: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- 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 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.7; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.1; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.2%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.5% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 80.2% of revenue deployed · 85.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $5.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $195K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 48/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 52/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.