Lindley Academy Charter School at Birney
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 452887132
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2014–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Phone
- 2676691450
- Rating
- 77
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $16,107,547
- Expenses
- $16,795,375
- Assets
- $5,517,524
- Liabilities
- $7,123,175
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
9 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Dr Margery Covello (CEO)
- REGINALD HOWARD (PRESIDENT)
- SANDRA FARMER (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- Dr Margery Covello (CEO): $222,963 total reported compensation
- NANCY WHITE (ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL): $200,984 total reported compensation
- Elaine Latimer (Special Education Director): $157,951 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Lindley academy charter school at birney believes that working together with parents and the community stakeholders creates an ideal environment in which students have the opportunity to strive for academic excellence in all content areas, explore a diverse curriculum, prepare to succeed in a global environment, provide service to a growing community, foster positive healthy adult and child relationships, participate in character education, and develop a respect for others through exemplary mentorship, experience cooperative educational communities in all content areas from fine arts to technology, and develop students into lifelong learners.
What it reported doing in 2024
Operate a charter school focusing on the educational needs of students who are at risk of failing in a traditional environment. The charter school is a part of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania public school system.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 86% 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.
- 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 75
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 19
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85.6%; rating input score 86
- Program expense ratio: 82.1%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -4.3%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.33; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.29; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3.5%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 13.9% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 7.9% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.9% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 85.6% of revenue deployed · 82.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $223K · 9 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.6M reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 10 filing years from 2014 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 8/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.