Frederick County Educational Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521396772
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Winchester, VA, USA
Phone
5406623889
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$426,915
Expenses
$193,827
Assets
$2,450,744
Liabilities
$871

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARY P NORDHAM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • CAROLYN WILLIAMS (PRESIDENT)
  • KATE CHAPPELL (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN LAMANNA (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARY P NORDHAM (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $35,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Strengthen secondary education opportunities

What it reported doing in 2025

Scholarships and grants-see attached

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 84% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 64
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 79
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 48.8%; rating input score 49
  • Program expense ratio: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 54.6%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.64; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 18.1%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.6% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 48.8% of revenue deployed · 79.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $155K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $35K · 14 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 21 of 21 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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: Mission deployment rate scored 49/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.