Foundation Academies Charter Schools

Legal name: Foundation Academy Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
204406909
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Trenton, NJ, US
Phone
(609) 920-9200
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$31,979,048
Expenses
$32,425,259
Assets
$24,273,169
Liabilities
$11,940,433

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

Leadership & pay

21 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHERIA MCRAE (CEO)
  • DUNCAN HARRIS (Vice President)
  • SHERIA MCRAE (CEO)
  • RICHARD SEIGIER-CARTER (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHERIA MCRAE (CEO): $202,854 total reported compensation
  • ANDRE MOORE (CFO): $184,183 total reported compensation
  • NATASIA COOPER (CHIEF OF ACADEMICS): $153,283 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We equip all scholars to excel in learning and empower them to lead purpose-filled lives. We ensure every child receives a quality education, regardless of their zip code.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the sixteenth year of operation, the 2024-2025 school year, Foundation Academy Charter School provided a full range of educational services appropriate for all students in grades Kindergarten through 12th Grade. The Educational program includes social, health and nutrition services that support the total education of the student. In addition, the educational services include regular, as well as special education instruction. Foundation Academy Charter School promotes the full involvement of parents in their childrens educational development. The Charter School completed the 2024-2025 school year with the following enrollment: 253 primary school students in Kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 2; 255 intermediate school students were enrolled in Grades 3 through 5; 252 middle school students in Grades 6 through 8; and 328 high school students were enrolled in grades 9 thru 12. The Average Daily Enrollment (ADE) for the entire charter school for the 2023-2024 school year was 1110 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 90% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 66
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 83.9%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -1.4%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.75; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.49; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.5%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 9 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 84% of revenue deployed · 83.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $27.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $203K · 21 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 29/100.