Manhattan Country School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
132546971
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022
Location
New York, NY, USA
Phone
2123480952
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,954,146
Expenses
$11,456,423
Assets
$40,989,753
Liabilities
$28,905,070

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • COREY BLAY (DIRECTOR): $210,195 total reported compensation
  • AKEMI SARDINHA (DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT): $150,808 total reported compensation
  • MAIYA JACKSON (DIRECTOR OF UPPER SCHOOL): $131,261 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2022. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Reflecting the vision of the civil rights movement, manhattan country school teaches students in a community with no racial majority and broad economic diversity. Our goals for students are academic excellence, intellectual freedom, social awareness, self-confidence, and first hand knowledge of the natural world. Manhattan country school is unique among nyc independent schools in having a 180 acre working farm integral to the curriculum and a sliding scale for tuition.

What it reported doing in 2022

Private school providing equal educational opportunity and equal access to students of a pluralistic society. Number of students enrolled is 293.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 71% 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

SUPPORTED - 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: 54
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 59%; rating input score 59
  • Program expense ratio: 46.1%; rating input score 46
  • Fundraising efficiency: $18.78 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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; 64th 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: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -27.9%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.58; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.71; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 59% of revenue deployed · 46.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $5.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $210K · 27 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2014 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 12 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 59/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 46/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.