KIPP Columbus
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 208627107
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2020–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Columbus, OH, USA
- Phone
- 6142636137
- Rating
- 87
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Secondary, High School
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $36,275,154
- Expenses
- $45,624,902
- Assets
- $127,060,276
- Liabilities
- $31,034,592
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- CIJI PITTMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- CIJI PITTMAN (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $268,254 total reported compensation
- DUSTIN WOOD (SENIOR DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS): $144,551 total reported compensation
- MARY HOPKINS (CHIEF OF STAFF): $140,553 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
KIPP Columbus is a free, college-prep public community school serving students in grades K-12 and committed to improving education and college readiness. New KIPP Columbus Primary building opens, allowing the expansion of grades K-1 to support more than 500 students. KIPP students May 2020. A student climbs the steps at a KIPP Columbus school Fall 2024. KIPP Columbus is participating in the **Community Eligibility Provision** (**CEP**) for the 2025-2026 school year. Section 104(a) of the **Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010** amended section 11(a)(1) of the **Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act** (42 U.S.C. 1759a(a)(1))(the law) to provide an alternative to household applications for free and reduced-price meals in local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools...
What it reported doing in 2024
Operation of a Public Community aka Charter school in Ohio
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 63% 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
STRONG - 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: 89
- Transparency & Controls: 84
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 39
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -25.8%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.78; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 20.3% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 10.9% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 60% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $45.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $268K · 16 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.9M reported
- Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 5 filing years from 2020 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- 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 4/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.