Green Dot Public Schools
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 954679811
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Phone
- 3235651600
- Rating
- 84
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $230,253,779
- Expenses
- $236,281,256
- Assets
- $299,802,614
- Liabilities
- $196,728,717
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
19 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Cristina de Jesus (President & CEO)
- Damon Hands (Vice President Of Education)
Highest reported compensation
- Cristina de Jesus (President & CEO): $493,952 total reported compensation
- Annette Gonzalez (Chief Education Officer): $410,850 total reported compensation
- Michael Lopez (Chief Financial Officer): $300,991 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
For more than 25 years, Green Dot Public Schools has worked to transform public education so that all students graduate prepared for college, leadership, and life. Green Dot Public Schools is a public charter school organization with 18 high-performing schools serving over 9,000 students in grades TK-12 across Los Angeles. Our mission is to help transform public education, so all students graduate prepared for college, leadership, and life. Learn More Green Dot by the Numbers. Support News 🚨 We are pleased to announce that all Green Dot campuses have reopened. Our teams have worked hard to ensure a safe and clean environment for your children. Masks will be available for students and staff who need them, but we ask that you send your student to school with a mask if you have masks at home.
What it reported doing in 2024
Green Dot Public Schools is a network of Title I secondary schools seeking to put every student on the path to college, regardless of background. Our academic model is focused on retention, rigor, and results. We serve the "whole" student with social-emotional development in addition to academic progress. We offer a range of comprehensive programs, small schools, and safe college-prep learning environments at our public charter middle and high schools from Venice, across South Los Angeles, to Boyle Heights serving approximately 9,500 students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 94% 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
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 80
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 94
- Sustainability: 34
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 91.3%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 88.8%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- 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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 38th 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: -2.6%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.27; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.66; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.1%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 91.3% of revenue deployed · 88.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $209.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $494K · 19 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $5.8M reported
- Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 9 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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: Operating margin scored 17/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 48/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.