Great Mn Schools

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
811733895
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6123611309
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,298,851
Expenses
$5,784,020
Assets
$216,430
Liabilities
$169,426

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JENNIFER STERN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • JENNIFER STERN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $348,162 total reported compensation
  • SHEILAH KAVANEY (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $200,531 total reported compensation
  • MORGAN BROWN (PORTFOLIO DIRECTOR): $177,877 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

We believe that great schools are the cornerstone of a just and thriving community. Ensuring that every child is able to attend a school that works is our moral and social imperative - our children deserve no less.

What it reported doing in 2024

Great mn schools partners with promising schools guiding their improvement and growth, strengthening students' learning experiences, and advancing educational outcomes. Working with community-based partners, we support families in making informed decisions on enrollment and advocating for their children within schools. And we engage the community as partners, building support for proven solutions.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 77% for direct work, and 23% for grants.

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: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 9
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.7%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 82.2%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.5%; rating input score 100; 39th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: 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: -9.2%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.04; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.5%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -3.5% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 89.7% of revenue deployed · 82.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $348K · 22 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 30 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 24 filed related-organization links
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.