Horse Creek Academy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 571111775
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Aiken, SC, USA
- Phone
- 8032260160
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $18,459,796
- Expenses
- $18,531,016
- Assets
- $23,777,022
- Liabilities
- $23,143,666
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
12 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- DR ANN MARIE TAYLOR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- DR ANN MARIE TAYLOR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $196,629 total reported compensation
- ASHLEY STURKIE (FISCAL DIRECTOR): $75,511 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our mission is to create an innovative and challenging learning environment that teaches the whole learner through the pillars of connection, flexibility, and service
What it reported doing in 2024
The primary purpose of horse creek academy (hca) is to provide a quality education to a diverse group of students in grades 4k through twelfth grade. We will provide a challenging curriculum using best practices that are data driven. We provide that education through natural experiences, investigative research, hands on activities, and parental involvement. Hca currently educates approximately 1350 children pre-k4 through 12th grade with varying abilities and backgrounds. We advance student knowledge through use of the state's core of non-academic subjects including chorus, physical education, computers, and library. We also provide extra curricular activies such as science club, drama, tutoring, drama, related arts, small engine repair, band, music, dance, agriculture, and nail tech and intramural sports such as girls and boys basketball and volleyball.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 92% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 69
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 37
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 77.9%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 77.3%; rating input score 77
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -0.4%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.28; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.97; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 19.8% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 18% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.1% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 77.9% of revenue deployed · 77.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $14.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $197K · 12 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $371K reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 2 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.