Lemmon Tree Academy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 990951859
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2024–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Raleigh, NC, USA
- Phone
- 9198458880
- Rating
- 42
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $270,316
- Expenses
- $12,446
- Assets
- $277,870
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- MARSHA HARGETTE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
Highest reported compensation
- MARSHA HARGETTE (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $175,291 total reported compensation
- REBECCA SMITH (SCHOOL DIRECTOR): $111,523 total reported compensation
- PETE EKENSTIERNA (FINANGE MANAGER): $96,497 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Lemmon tree academy offers children with special educational needs and their families life-changing, highly specialized, personalized education and therapies in a setting with a very low student-to-teacher ratio. This top-quality education prepares the children for a lifetime of enhanced learning and successful involvement in family and community life.the academy's philosophy of education is that all children, regardless of different abilities, are first and foremost children. This means recognizing the child as an individual with unique human needs and rights who is an essential part of their family and community. The academy's curriculum covers all aspects of child development through a sequential developmental and early academic program.
What it reported doing in 2024
The mission of lemmon tree academy is to educate and celebrate children of all abilities. Currently, the school is serving 24 children aged 6-8 years old and plans to reach a maximum capacity of 100 children in the future. Services offered include speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and vision and hearing services, all customized for each child. Children attending lemmon tree academy enjoy music therapy, movement classes, and an optional summer enrichment program. The school's student-to-teacher ratio is never higher than 1:6, and all lead teachers hold a North Carolina teaching license.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 61% 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
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 1
- Transparency & Controls: 65
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 84
- Growth: NotEnoughData
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 0.1%; rating input score 0
- Program expense ratio: 1.6%; rating input score 2
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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: 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: 95.4%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 22.33; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 134.1%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: Limited
- Revenue growth: Limited
- Asset growth: Limited
Details
- Where the money goes: 0.1% of revenue deployed · 1.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $200 in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $175K · 24 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 12 of 12 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 2/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 1/100.