Liberty School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208600388
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Durango, CO, USA
Phone
9703854834
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$856,854
Expenses
$890,972
Assets
$3,759,089
Liabilities
$1,345,694

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Douglas C Holmen (Head of School): $36,620 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide individualized, dynamic education for dyslexic, academically gifted, and twice-exceptional (both dyslexic and gifted) students.

What it reported doing in 2024

Liberty School is a fully accredited organization serving the southwest region of Colorado, educating dyslexic, and gifted-dyslexic students in grades one through eight using a highly individualized approach and one-on-one Orton-Gillingham language tutoring. In addition, teacher trainings and screening evaluations are provided to the community at reduced or free rates, as well as educational presentations and dyslexia simulations to help raise awareness. For the 2024-2025 school year, Liberty served thirty-seven students. Liberty held its second annual golf tournament as a fundraiser and to honor the passing of our Board president. Liberty was nominated as a Top 5 non-profit by the Durango Chamber of Commerce, we brought two new language tutors onboard, and we also reorganized our administrative structure as we brought aboard a skilled Family and Operations Coordinator to increase our efficiency.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 83% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 45
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 85.3%; rating input score 85
  • Program expense ratio: 81.8%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.98 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.22; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.36; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.9% per year; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 85.3% of revenue deployed · 81.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $729K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $37K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 26/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 21/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.