Ideal Academy Public Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522138875
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018
Location
Washington, DC, USA
Phone
2027296660
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,580,149
Expenses
$5,501,840
Assets
$11,779,921
Liabilities
$9,193,687

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • GEORGE RUTHERFORD II PHD (PRINCIPAL): $118,138 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

We are a community comitted to excellence in education by providing a nurturing learning environment that enales our students to become competent and contributing global citizens. At ideal academy, we embrace the whole child: mind, body, and character, providing them not only cognitive development, but also social, emotional, physical, and creative growth.

What it reported doing in 2018

The school's goal is to empower students to excel academically and achieve maximum self-reliance and personal fulfillment. This is accomplished by engaging students in dynamic learning experiences based on proven educational methods and incorporating strong community and parental involvement. There is a collaborative effort to create a safe and caring learning environment that nurtures and empower students, their parents, and the teaching staff.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 65
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 50
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 74%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.4%; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.14; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73% of revenue deployed · 74% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $118K · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $462K reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2009 to 2018
  • 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.

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

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 41/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.