Frederica Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581093060
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
St Simons Island, GA, USA
Phone
9126389981
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,133,875
Expenses
$12,159,386
Assets
$35,509,708
Liabilities
$9,681,656

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SCOTT HUTCHINSON (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $281,322 total reported compensation
  • JOHN POPE (CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $144,727 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 maximize each student's potential and prepare him/her for college and adult life through the development of mind, body, and spirit.

What it reported doing in 2024

Frederica academy serves approximately 450 students in grades pk-12 each year. Frederica academy's college preparatory program serves families from glynn and the surrounding counties and is the only independent school between jacksonville, Florida and savannah, Georgia. Frederica's need-based financial aid program promotes ethnic and economic diversity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 67% 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

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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.9%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 79.5%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $8.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 19.7%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.92; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.9% of revenue deployed · 79.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 25 of 25 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $281K · 27 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.7M reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 34/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.