Gould Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
010211509
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Bethel, ME, USA
Phone
2078247700
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,588,571
Expenses
$20,023,511
Assets
$43,901,255
Liabilities
$9,001,210

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SAMUEL W ADAMS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • TAO SMITH (HEAD OF SCHO): $319,504 total reported compensation
  • DAVID F WILLIS JR (ASST. H.O.S.): $168,241 total reported compensation
  • MARK GODOMSKY (DEAN OF ATHL): $165,344 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Gould academy guides students to be creative, courageous and resilient and to lead lives of fulfillment and purpose.

What it reported doing in 2024

A gould education is transformative. Students build meaningful relationships in our community, and learn through a challenging interdisciplinary curriculum. Our extraordinary mountain setting and innovative educators provide the environment, time, and mentorship for young people to discover and fulfill their potential.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 70% for direct work, and 30% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.4%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 75.7%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.56 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th 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: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • 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: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -28.4%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.19; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 97.4% of revenue deployed · 75.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $15.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $320K · 23 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $702K reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.