Harbor Montessori

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911301209
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Gig Harbor, WA, USA
Phone
2538515722
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$4,145,545
Expenses
$4,174,589
Assets
$4,134,571
Liabilities
$1,943,956

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • AIMEE ALLEN (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $129,416 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Private school education from eight weeks through eighth grade dedicated to nurturing the whole child through intentional academic guidance, purposeful learning environments, and peace minded community support.

What it reported doing in 2024

Harbor montessori school (hms) is an independent, nonprofit school serving children from eight weeks through eighth grade. Accredited by the american montessori society and the northwest association of independent schools, hms has proudly served the south sound community for over four decades.at hms, we foster a strong sense of belonging and are guided by our mission and core values of inclusivity, respect, connection, optimism, and integrity.our curriculum, rooted in the educational philosophy of maria montessori, places the child and their natural curiosity at the center of learning. We maintain a commitment to high-fidelity montessori education while integrating modern research and best practices in education.with an enrollment of over 240 students and a dedicated team of 65 staff and faculty, we are proud of our strong community and excellent staff retention.we believe in nurturing the whole child through intentional academic guidance, purposeful learning environments, and peace-minded community support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 97% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.9%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 85.1%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 2; 2nd 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: 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.7%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.99; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.1%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.9% of revenue deployed · 85.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $129K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 2/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.