First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
233062230
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Philadelphia, PA, US
Phone
215-743-3100
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$44,640,286
Expenses
$40,321,627
Assets
$68,452,453
Liabilities
$47,408,037

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEBORAH SMITH (chief executive officer)
  • ANITA VEGA-KAISER (president)
  • Dr Martha J Ritter (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBORAH SMITH (chief executive officer): $240,047 total reported compensation
  • Erina Pearlstein (Principal): $185,539 total reported compensation
  • Jennifer Marsico (Principal): $167,460 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 prepare students for college and career success through a rigorous academic program and a supportive learning environment.

What it reported doing in 2024

First philadelphia preparatory charter school is a charter school in the city of philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which provides educational instruction to students from grades k through 12.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.2%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 88.4%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

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: 9.7%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.7; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.69; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.6%; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 18.1% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 78.2% of revenue deployed · 88.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $35.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $240K · 12 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $9.6M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.

  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.