Harbor Christian Academy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 371794479
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Houston, TX, USA
- Phone
- 7136374406
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,133,724
- Expenses
- $2,491,175
- Assets
- $1,407,234
- Liabilities
- $31,442
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
7 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- John Bryant (Head of School): $64,299 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Harbor Christian Academy (HCA) seeks to transform students from varied backgrounds across Houston through a classical and Christian education to the glory of God.
What it reported doing in 2024
Harbor Christian Academy served approximately 137 students during the 2024-2025 school year. The students exhibited tremendous academic, emotional, and spiritual growth throughout the year. The curriculum included explicit, systematic and multi-sensory phonics instruction, explicit grammar instruction (using Shurley Grammar materials), and high-quality literature to establish a sound reading foundation and foster a love of literature. Math skills were cultivated using Math in Focus, a program that teaches students to solve problems using a concrete-pictorial-abstract learning progression, and Saxon math to establish necessary skills for students to advance to Algebra. Continued on Schedule O.These core subjects were tied together with a rich humanities study that integrated history, geography, and literary arts. Along with these studies, students explored the physical world through science and physical education, the roots of language through Latin, fine arts through music and art, and the foundations of the Christian faith through the Bible. Students were provided breakfast, lunch, and two snacks daily, ensuring that their nutritional needs were met and they were ready to learn.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
- 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
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: 90
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $10.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -16.8%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.56; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.02; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.6%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 25.8% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -10.8% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -21.5% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $64K · 7 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 40/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 20/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.