Lakeside School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
910564971
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Seattle, WA, USA
Phone
2063683610
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$125,339,252
Expenses
$62,665,662
Assets
$590,461,413
Liabilities
$48,077,527

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

Leadership & pay

30 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • KAI BYNUM (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $896,284 total reported compensation
  • BIRAGE TANDON (ASSOC. HEAD OF SCHOOL/CFO): $533,673 total reported compensation
  • SUE BELCHER (HEAD OF DOWNTOWN SCHOOL): $348,166 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 mission of lakeside school is to develop in intellectually capable young people the creative minds, healthy bodies, and ethical spirits needed to contribute wisdom, compassion, and leadership to a global society. We provide a rigorous, dynamic academic program through which effective educators lead students to take responsibility for learning. We are committed to sustaining a school in which individuals representing diverse cultures and experiences instruct one another in the meaning and value of community and in the joy and importance of lifelong learning.

What it reported doing in 2024

Lakeside school continues its focus on the core elements of its mission through the three areas of its strategic plan: educational excellence; community experience, engagement, and impact; and infrastructure, operations, and capacity. The school's comprehensive middle and upper school program includes excellent academics, athletics, experiential education, and visual and performing arts. The financial aid program provides tuition- and non-tuition financial aid to approximately a third of the student population. The food service program offers meals and snacks to all students and employees. In addition to the school-year program, the school offers a rich array of summer programming to school age children, including academic courses, investigative learning and athletics camps, and the signature lakeside educational enrichment program (leep) which serves seattle public school students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 80% for direct work, and 20% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 73
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 83
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 45.5%; rating input score 45
  • Program expense ratio: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $39.72 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 71; 71st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.5%; rating input score 90; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95%; rating input score 95; 47th 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 50%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 9.42; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 85; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 45.5% of revenue deployed · 82.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 19 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $51.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $896K · 30 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $9M reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 43 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.