Forest Bluff School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363188563
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lake Bluff, IL, USA
Phone
8472958338
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,088,317
Expenses
$2,522,176
Assets
$21,423,001
Liabilities
$2,733,823

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

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Helen Lynn Jessen (President)
  • Margaret Jessen Kelley (Vice president)

Highest reported compensation

  • Helen Lynn Jessen (President): $60,000 total reported compensation
  • Margaret Jessen Kelley (Vice president): $36,520 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Private Montessori based elementary school

What it reported doing in 2024

Forest Bluff School is a private, Montessori based, school servicing Lake Forest/Lake Bluff, Illinois communities.

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 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and program spending has grown recently. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 50
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 30
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 40.1%; rating input score 40
  • Program expense ratio: 82.5%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 50.4%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.49; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.8%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 40.1% of revenue deployed · 82.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 3 board members independent · 2 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $60K · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 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.
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 33/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 7 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.