Hope Academy

Legal name: Hope Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411962874
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Minneapolis, MN, US
Phone
612-540-2000
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$32,111,922
Expenses
$24,944,149
Assets
$46,908,680
Liabilities
$2,966,856

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAN OLSON (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JIM STIGMAN (HEAD OF ADVA): $214,583 total reported compensation
  • RUSS GREGG (HEAD OF SCHO): $155,285 total reported compensation
  • NATHAN ZIEGLER (CHIEF ACADEM): $122,852 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Hope Academy exists to provide a remarkable, Christ-centered education for students in Minneapolis, equipping them to become citizens of character and wisdom.

What it reported doing in 2024

The school accepts students in all grades from kindergarten up to twelve. All expenses went toward providing a high quality, christ-centered education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 56% for direct work, and 44% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 74
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.4%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 92.6%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.5 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 84.6%; rating input score 85; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 22.3%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.88; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 17.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.6% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 72.4% of revenue deployed · 92.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $23.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $215K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 59/100.