Holderness School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
020147630
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Plymouth, NH, USA
Phone
6035361748
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$30,371,655
Expenses
$30,649,003
Assets
$165,155,561
Liabilities
$20,634,252

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

Leadership & pay

38 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARK STURGEON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ADVA)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN MCVEIGH (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $578,137 total reported compensation
  • WALTER SCHAEFFLER (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $421,699 total reported compensation
  • MARK STURGEON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ADVA): $265,522 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Holderness school fosters equally the resources of the mind, body, and spirit in the creation of a caring community, inspiring all to work for the betterment of humankind and god's creation.

What it reported doing in 2024

Located in plymouth, New Hampshire, holderness school is a traditional independent co-ed boarding school with an enrollment of 312. Serving grades 9-12, holderness school provides a challenging college preparatory curriculum and special programs in academics, the arts, the outdoors, student leadership, and athletics including winter sports. Holderness school fosters equally the resources of the mind, body, and spirit in the creation of a caring community, inspiring all to work for the betterment of humankind and god's creation.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 80% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 78% for direct work, and 22% for grants.
  • 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: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.4%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 79.3%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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; 66th 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: -0.9%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.39; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.3%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.4% of revenue deployed · 79.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 28 of 28 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $24.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $578K · 38 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.6M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 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 5/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.