Jackson Hole Classical Academy

Legal name: Jackson Hole Classical Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
452795231
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Jackson, WY, US
Phone
(307) 201-5040
Rating
62
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$46,975,097
Expenses
$6,359,220
Assets
$92,572,655
Liabilities
$3,543,437

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • POLLY FRIESS (FORMER HEAD OF SCHOOL/VICE PRESIDENT)
  • BRENDAN MINITER (PRESIDENT/CHAIRMAN)

Highest reported compensation

  • PAUL HARRELL (FORMER HEAD OF SCHOOL): $248,461 total reported compensation
  • SAMUEL LUNZ (DEAN OF STUDENTS): $167,948 total reported compensation
  • JACK LEDDEN (FACILITIES/GROUND MGR): $135,298 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

JHCA is a devoted Christian community seeking parents who understand and support the Academy’s mission and educational philosophy... students who demonstrate proven capability to succeed... students whose behavior fits the expectations of JHCA and who live with integrity.

What it reported doing in 2024

Jackson hole classical academy served 99 students during the 2024-2025 school year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 47
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 65
  • Sustainability: 85
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 12.6%; rating input score 13
  • Program expense ratio: 89%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $264.11 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 92; 92nd 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 44
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 86.5%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 14.56; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 17.9%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 29.5% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 35.8% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 12.6% of revenue deployed · 89% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 4 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $248K · 15 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $34.1M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 5/100.