Gateway Academy Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
800635404
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Newark, NJ, USA
Phone
9735667070
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$24,481,526
Expenses
$23,454,577
Assets
$10,289,246
Liabilities
$2,518,569

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • GWEN MARTINEZ (VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE/SBA)

Highest reported compensation

  • YOLAND FLOYD (PRINCIPAL - HIGH SCHOOL): $177,027 total reported compensation
  • MANDISA BRUDEY (PRINCIPAL IN RESIDENCE): $171,392 total reported compensation
  • JANELLE HAMPTON (PRINCIPAL - MIDDLE SCHOOL): $152,585 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Gateway academy charter school builds innovators who graduate and be college ready to solve the worlds next set of challenges. It is a k-12 school that prepares students for college and careers through leadership development, community engagement and services, and excellent academics.

What it reported doing in 2024

Gateway academy charter school builds innovators who graduate and be college ready to solve the worlds next set of challenges. It is a k-12 school that prepares students for college and careers through leadership development, community engagement and services, and excellent academics. The charter school had an average enrollment of 780 students in grades k-12 during the fiscal year ended june 30, 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 100% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 56
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.3%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 65%; rating input score 65
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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: Limited
  • 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: 4.2%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.44; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.5% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.3% of revenue deployed · 65% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $15.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $177K · 13 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $801K reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 13/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.