Far Hills Country Day School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
221489901
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Far Hills, NJ, USA
Phone
9087660622
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,112,388
Expenses
$12,394,632
Assets
$47,525,616
Liabilities
$6,750,595

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • GEORGIA ZAISER (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $413,622 total reported compensation
  • LORI A FITZGIBBON (CFO): $203,381 total reported compensation
  • PATRICIA BARRY (DIRECTOR OF LOWER SCHOOL): $178,790 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Through academic excellence and character development, far hills country day school provides each child brilliant beginnings for success in the modern world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instructional servicesfar hills country day school challenges students to think independently and achieve confidently. The school's shared growth mindset contributes to its experiential, student-centered approach to learning, its welcoming community of families, and its focus on developing individual strengths. At far hills, students are empowered to grow inward, outward, and upward and graduate prepared to lead at the country's most competitive secondary schools. The academic journey starts in preschool and continues through grade 8. Students explore and study a variety of subjects, including math, science, language arts, steam, art, social studies, and history, and more! We invite you to take a deep dive into the far hills country day school curriculum by viewing the curriculum guide below, or by clicking the button that says "explore our curriculum" to search by grade level and subject.fh has continued its long history of placing 8th grade graduates in top rated preparatory schools in the northeast.the school provided 215 enrolled students with educational services, programming, and other student-centered offerings during fy2025. The school also provided 215 enrolled students with lunch, snacks, etc. During fy2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 86% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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 - 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: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 87
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.2%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • 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 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -11.5%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.83; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.2% of revenue deployed · 73.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 18 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $9.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $414K · 27 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $964K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 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: 8 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 9/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.