German School Brooklyn

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
474759054
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone
5162669301
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,418,038
Expenses
$8,817,590
Assets
$37,763,224
Liabilities
$48,123,260

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JAN BORNEBUSCH (CO-PRESIDENT)
  • TIMOTHY B ARMSTRONG (CO-PRESIDENT, TREASURER)

Highest reported compensation

  • MELISSA M BOURGEOIS (DEPUTY HEAD OF SCHOOL): $157,438 total reported compensation
  • SONJA EINOEDTER (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $116,477 total reported compensation
  • RAPHAEL HILLISCH (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $90,000 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Gsb is a preschool through 8th grade international school where students learn through either a german-english or a spanish-english immersion program. We strive to cultivate intellectual curiosity, critical thinking skills, and a deep understanding of diverse cultures and perspectives to build a more equitable and sustainable future for all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Tuition and fees for school programs

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 92% 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.

The verdict

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 85.6%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -62.7%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.28; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.27; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 21.9% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.6% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 29.3% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 85.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $157K · 13 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $140K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.