Lynden Christian School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 910662879
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Lynden, WA, USA
- Phone
- 3603189525
- Rating
- 88
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Standard
- Sector
- Christianity
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $16,710,009
- Expenses
- $16,115,333
- Assets
- $18,864,127
- Liabilities
- $3,204,888
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- THEODORE MELLEMA JR (PRESIDENT)
- JASON KOOI (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JESSICA HONCOOP (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & OPERATIONS): $146,367 total reported compensation
- CRAIG JOHNSON (HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL): $130,434 total reported compensation
- AARON BISHOP (MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL): $121,236 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The mission of lynden christian schools is to be an effective instrument of god. Together with christian parents and the church, we seek to educate children and young people so that they may grow and mature into perceptive and caring christians. Finally, our goal is to produce citizens who have a transforming influence in the world.
What it reported doing in 2024
Providing educational services to approximately 1,300 students from preschool through grade 12. Programs include spanish immersion for preschool through grade 4, special educational instruction on a one on one basis for students with special needs, provide advanced collegeprep credit courses, drama, music, and both wood and machine shop courses.
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 96% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 100
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 51
- Growth: 80
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 91%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 86%; rating input score 86
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.52 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.6%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.17; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 3%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -1.2% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 91% of revenue deployed · 86% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $146K · 16 people listed
- Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $237K reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 31/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 42/100.