Hillcrest Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953647842
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2015
Forms available
Form 990 2015
Location
Temecula, CA, USA
Phone
9516764754
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,279,171
Expenses
$1,814,922
Assets
$2,367,750
Liabilities
$4,387,936

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MICHAEL BENDER (BOARD PRESIDENT)
  • SEAN ROY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SEAN ROY (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $102,798 total reported compensation
  • MARIA SWEENEY (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $64,753 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Preschool and elementary school (k-8)- approximately 250 students. Hillcrest academy's mission, in partnership with students and parents, is to pursue excellence of academics, character, and leadership, and to encourage each person to approach life with a sense of inquiry and purpose.

What it reported doing in 2015

The revenues & expenses associated with the activities conducted to provide the expected services for an elementary and middle school.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 94% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 63
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 77.2%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 1 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 11
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -41.9%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.3; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.85; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.2%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.9% per year; rating input score 0; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -5.2% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -4.6% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 77.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 1 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $103K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2010 to 2015
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 8 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.