Hand In Hand Christian Montessori

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
364612109
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2023
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Roseville, MN, US
Phone
651.784.7988
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,959,543
Expenses
$5,419,026
Assets
$11,108,463
Liabilities
$10,377,185

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JOSHUA LEGBAND (PRESIDENT)
  • JESSICA WOHLER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • MICHELLE THOMPSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MICHELLE THOMPSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $65,564 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

REIMAGINE EDUCATION through Christian Montessori so all may LOVE, LEARN and LEAD! Hand In Hand actively disciples children by engaging passionate parents. We invite parents to participate in presentations and discussions related to children and families in a context of godly values and spiritual support (Titus 2:3-5). As advocates of the home, our mission is to strengthen families by educating parents in their role as their child’s first and most important teacher, nurturer, and role model (Proverbs 22:6). Parents of preschool, elementary, junior and senior high children who are intentional about continuing purposeful activities at home and/or in home education will feel supported with our educational philosophy and resources. Discover Montessori’s Uniquely Christian Past.

What it reported doing in 2023

Hand in hand chrstian montessori educates and nurtures children and supports families enrolled from from preschool to 12th grade. Over 500 students were enrolled for the 2023-2024 school year. Hand in hand chrstian montessori provides montessori childcare for infants and toddlers at the central and wayzata campuses hand in hand stands unique among its competition as it presents individual lessons (instead of group, one-sized fits-all); innovative materials and approaches with best practices implementing at every level; and inspiration themes with traditional, christian, family values. Our collaborative efforts with parents is important when parental-rights and information is becoming scarce in educational settings. Our constructivist approach is among the most sought-after style of learning and our international pegaogy is strong.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 88% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.9%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 70.5%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.28 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 64th 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: 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: -9.3%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.05; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.93; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.8% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 32.5% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 76.9% of revenue deployed · 70.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $66K · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $324K reported
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2023
  • 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 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.