Institute for Better Education

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237102832
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Tucson, Arizona, US
Phone
(520) 200-7275
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$25,515,241
Expenses
$20,343,859
Assets
$50,776,848
Liabilities
$10,942

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jack Schull (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Kimberly Kirschner (Executive Dir.): $112,722 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Institute for Better Education (IBE) is an Arizona Certified School Tuition Organization (STO) and 501(c)(3) Nonprofit and Nonpartisan Organization. We are committed to removing any financial obstacles that stand in a family’s way of providing K-12 education for their children and their unique needs.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Institute for Better Education provided 4,823 students with scholarships to attend the Arizona private school that best fits their unique needs. IBE strives to assist the most vulnerable populations of children in Arizona with their educational needs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 94% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 98% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. The filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 81
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75.1%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 92.1%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $51.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0.5%; rating input score 1; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • 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: 20.3%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.5; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0.6%; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 5 programs and campaigns described on the official site
  • Where the money goes: 75.1% of revenue deployed · 92.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $18.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $113K · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $679K reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 32 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 1/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.