Far Brook School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
221487185
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Short Hills, NJ, USA
Phone
9733793442
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$18,659,968
Expenses
$14,504,450
Assets
$36,574,941
Liabilities
$7,299,136

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

Leadership & pay

26 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARC SCHWARTZ (PRESIDENT & CHAIR)

Highest reported compensation

  • AMY ZIEBARTH (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $511,945 total reported compensation
  • MINELLY SALADIN (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS): $237,650 total reported compensation
  • MELISSA WILLIAMS (DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC OPERATIONS): $236,354 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To create a supportive and caring community that cherishes love of learning, creativity, and individuality, and that provides teachers and students with both support and freedom to take risks in order to reach their full potential. A far brook education takes place in an environment of natural beauty and intimacy, where character and citizenship are valued as much as achievement. Implicit in our philosophy is the goal of bringing students to their highest level of academic and personal competency, both for their present and in preparation for their future education. It is our desire to touch the life of every child so that he or she may live life wisely and with great joy.

What it reported doing in 2024

Far brook school is an independent day school located in short hills, New Jersey. The school provides elementary education for boys and girls in nursery through grade eight.our approach to education embraces the following tenets of progressive education:1. Theme-based curriculum: teaching through themes emphasizes depth over breadth, allowing students to become experts on that topic.2. Hands-on learning: learning is experiential and active. Students construct their own knowledge through meaningful experiences, guided by passionate educators.3. An appreciation for nature: far brook's unique wooded campus provides an opportunity for learning without walls. At far brook, a bird's nest discovered in a tree becomes a science lesson; a sound heard in our wetlands habitat becomes a poem.4. Collaboration: collaboration is emphasized. Students learn to work with others from diverse grades, experiences, learning styles, and thinking, whether solving a problem in algebra, acting on stage, building a bench in woodshop, or passing the ball on the soccer field.5. Learning through the arts: integrating the arts with academics, technology, and physical education has been at the heart of far brook's philosophy since 1948. Experienced faculty spark curiosity about our world and inspire students to examine complex questions and make connections across disciplines.6. Social justice: a far brook education teaches children to not only be excellent learners, but excellent people. Students find their voice and the confidence to become changemakers, compassionate leaders, and ethical citizens.far brook's impact lasts a lifetime.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 85% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 68
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 54.3%; rating input score 54
  • Program expense ratio: 71.8%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.15 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • 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: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 28th 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 22.3%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.52; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.6%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 54.3% of revenue deployed · 71.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $512K · 26 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $797K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 54/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 59/100.