Living Wisdom School of Palo Alto

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
770521380
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Palo Alto, CA, USA
Phone
6504628150
Rating
61
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,205,556
Expenses
$1,892,875
Assets
$2,824,906
Liabilities
$5,276

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Gary McSweeney (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Gary McSweeney (President): $83,886 total reported compensation
  • Helen Purcell (Secretary Treasurer): $53,760 total reported compensation
  • Asha Praver (Director): $15,307 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Corporation was formed to organize and operate a primary private school, open to the public, based on the Living Wisdom principles of Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952) - See Statement 100

What it reported doing in 2024

Living Wisdom School of Palo Alto provides education for preschool students through 8th grade level. The curriculum focuses on a variety themed subjects such as: Self Expression and communication for language Our Earth - Our Universe for science Mathematics, social studies: understanding people Annual Theatre Production to integrate history, literature, art,... Personal Growth through awareness and meditaiton Artist Expression through music

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 90% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and the filing does not identify recipients for some grant dollars.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 24
  • Sustainability: 64
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 70.8%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 85.8%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 0%; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 25%; rating input score 25; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 2 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 22
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 14.2%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.49; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.3%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 46th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.4% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 70.8% of revenue deployed · 85.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 4 board members independent · 2 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $84K · 4 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 28 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 25/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization could not be resolved against the register, so the check is unfinished.