Lead Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
270264738
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Greenville, SC, USA
Phone
8649161459
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Reported finances

Revenue
$5,959,759
Expenses
$5,866,061
Assets
$16,658,352
Liabilities
$15,582,469

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

People named in this filing

  • SARAH KELLEY (BOARD CHAIR)
  • MILTON SHOCKLEY (TREASURER)
  • STANTON HORNE (MEMBER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To prepare all students, particularly those who have not been successful in traditional school environments, for life-long success through a structured, caring environment of high academic expectations; to educate servant leaders through a commitment to develop each student in seven key areas: leadership, scholarship, character, teamwork, creativity, community engagement and identity.

What it reported doing in 2024

See schedule olead academy is committed to developing well-rounded student leaders through rigorous academics, character development, and experiential learning. Rooted in our core values, be nice. Work hard. Serve well. Have fun., we cultivate students who embody our habits of leadership: empathy, perseverance, integrity, and curiosity (epic). Through active, engaging learning experiences, students build communication, critical thinking, resilience, and collaboration skills while learning to positively impact their community. Lead academy serves students in kindergarten through 8th grade and welcomes learners of all academic levels, including special education and gifted and talented students. Our intentionally small school environment allows caring adults to know students personally and support their individual needs.during the past school year, lead academy expanded student support services by launching a new k-3 developmental delay class serving students with high needs and a variety of disabilities, currently supporting four students. The school also conducted more than 10 evaluations to help ensure students received the academic and behavioral support necessary for success across educational settings. Service learning remains a core part of the lead experience, with students completing 3,402 community service hours for approximately 196 local organizations, including greenville humane society, South Carolina children's theatre, harvest hope, conestee nature preserve, greer relief, and ronald mcdonald house.students also participated in a wide variety of athletics and enrichment opportunities, including cross country, volleyball, cheerleading, basketball, baseball, drama club, robotics club, chess club, library club, and blush, a mentoring group for 6th-8th grade girls focused on self-confidence, sisterhood, and leadership development. This year, the robotics team earned multiple awards and advanced to regionals, while the chess club brought home multiple trophies through competition participation. Students in library club also helped operate the school library during morning hours, developing responsibility and leadership through service to the school community. As a tuition-free public charter school, lead academy proudly provides free breakfast, free lunch, and free after-school care and clubs for all students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 93% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.1%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 68.7%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $14.21 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 1.6%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.84; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.94; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.1% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.5% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.1% of revenue deployed · 68.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $243K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 49/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 6/100.