Independence Charter School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 233060261
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Wilmington, DE, US
- Phone
- (302) 652-3600
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $18,228,378
- Expenses
- $20,861,629
- Assets
- $22,841,887
- Liabilities
- $32,652,891
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
18 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ALLISON LAMSON (PRESIDENT)
- GAURAV RAY CHAUDHURY (VICE PRESIDENT)
- TANYA RULEY-MAYO (CEO (END JUNE 2024))
- MATT KELLEY (CEO (START JAN 2025))
- PATRICIA PRENDERGAST (CEO ASSISTANT)
Highest reported compensation
- KRISTEN LONG (PRINCIPAL): $232,284 total reported compensation
- ODAMIS FERNANDEZ-SHEINBAUM (ASST PRINCIPAL OF CURRICULUM): $176,199 total reported compensation
- RAMZY ANDRAWOS (DIRECTOR OF OPS): $170,800 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide a rigorous, college-preparatory education that empowers students to become critical thinkers, lifelong learners, and responsible citizens in a diverse and changing world.
What it reported doing in 2024
The primary mission of independence charter school is to provide anintellectually stimulating curriculum with an international focus, emphasizing the arts, languages, ideas, and histories, from an array ofcultures from around the world. To meet its goals, the school drawsheavily on the resources available in philadelphia - the museums, historic landmarks, businesses, schools, parks, and communities, andfamilies.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 83% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 70
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 20
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 86.8%; rating input score 87
- Program expense ratio: 75.8%; rating input score 76
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: 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: 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: -14.4%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.09; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.43; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.7%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: Mission, programs, and operating context captured from the official website.
- Where the money goes: 86.8% of revenue deployed · 75.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $15.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $232K · 18 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.4M reported
- Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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 7/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 45/100.