KIPP Nashville

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
202799123
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Nashville, TN, US
Phone
615-226-4484
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$71,997,127
Expenses
$66,454,825
Assets
$184,820,202
Liabilities
$112,156,862

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RANDY DOWELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • RANDY DOWELL (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $328,564 total reported compensation
  • CAREY PEEK (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $226,688 total reported compensation
  • TIFFANY VANLIER (CHIEF OF SCHOOLS): $211,740 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Together with families and communities, we create joyful, academically excellent schools that prepare students with the skills and confidence to pursue the paths they choose – college, career, and beyond – so they can lead fulfilling lives and build a more just world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Post-secondary support: kipp nashville continues its mission of preparing students for college and beyond via its kipp forward program. This program provides a variety of support in high school including opportunities for students to explore college early via trips & fairs and to identify career paths and college majors. This program also assists parents/students through the college process, supports alumni on their path through college and has a scholarship program for new graduates and alumni. Statistics of the class of 2025 include: $8 million in scholarships, 33% of students scored above a 21 on the act and over 900 college acceptances.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 89% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 71
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 60
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.8%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 84.4%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $140.89 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.7%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.78; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.61; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 16.6% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 78.8% of revenue deployed · 84.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $56.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $329K · 30 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.3M reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 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: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.