Lake Forest Academy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 362216167
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Lake Forest, IL, US
- Phone
- 847-615-3210
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Secondary, High School
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $48,593,311
- Expenses
- $39,151,235
- Assets
- $145,211,183
- Liabilities
- $52,129,670
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
44 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- CHRISTOPHER O TENNYSON (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $417,850 total reported compensation
- MICHAEL J REIDY (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $317,019 total reported compensation
- JOTHAM THOMAS JOHNSON (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $276,573 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Lake Forest Academy strives to embody in its practices and to cultivate in its students excellence of character, scholarship, citizenship, and responsibility.
What it reported doing in 2024
Lake forest academy "lfa" was established in 1857 as the boys' preparatory department of lind university. The girls' preparatory department, ferry hall, was added 1869. In 1925, lfa and ferry hall legally separated from the university to become secondary educational institutions. In 1974, the two schools merged into a co-educational independent school. Today's lfa is home to 445 students from 19 states and 40 countries where 50% are boarders. Lfa operates as a boarding school with 72% of the faculty residing on campus. Lfa's 150-acre campus is on the former estate of j. Ogden armour and now consists of a complementary mix of historical and modern buildings. Lfa's 2019 strategic plan, "midwestern heart. Global mind.", focuses on program service accomplishments: developing global citizens through unique educational experiences within a diverse and caring community. The administration and faculty are focused on working within the four main initiatives - educational experience, multiculturalism, marketing, and financial strength. Since 1857, lfa has stayed true to its core values of educating the innovative minds of the next generation. The institution and its people are poised to achieve higher levels of success and look enthusiastically toward a new chapter in lfa's history.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 82% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 78% for direct work, and 22% for grants.
- 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 66
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 98
- Sustainability: 71
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 72.8%; rating input score 73
- Program expense ratio: 73%; rating input score 73
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 97.1%; rating input score 97; 31st 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: 19.4%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.71; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 72.8% of revenue deployed · 73% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 33 of 34 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $28.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $418K · 44 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $11M reported
- Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
- Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 13 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 11/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.