Marine Military Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
741507957
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2011
Location
Harlingen, TX, USA
Phone
9564236006
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$15,300,987
Expenses
$15,255,465
Assets
$47,908,057
Liabilities
$2,394,045

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CHRISTOPHER S DOWLING (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRISTOPHER S DOWLING (PRESIDENT): $247,778 total reported compensation
  • JOHN D BUTLER (CFO/PROVOST): $204,353 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT R GRIDER (DIR - INST. ADVANCMT): $139,742 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 academy is a boarding school providing college preparatory education for young men grades 7-12, developing these young men into disciplined, morally strong, college-ready young men prepared for responsible leadership.marine military academy's mission is to instill in young persons loyalty to their country and dedication to the ideals of liberty and to encourage the development of intellectual excellence, leadership, self-discipline, physical stamina, and moral character through programs and activities created and conducted in the spirit of the united states marine corps.

What it reported doing in 2024

Marine military academy's college preparatory boarding school for young men in grades 7 - 12 served 223 academic year cadets and 324 summer campers during the year ended may 31, 2025. Cadets study the academic core disciplines of english, mathematics, social science, science, and foreign language in classes with an average student teacher ratio of 8 to 1 to encourage individual attention. Elective courses and advanced placement courses challenge cadets with additional study. The academy offers four years of mandarin language and culture and an aerospace program that offers the opportunity for a cadet to obtain his pilot's license. The 54 graduates of the class of 2025 earned admission to four-year colleges/universities and two-year programs or entered military service. In 2024-2025, the academy had 28 scores of 3 or above out of a possible 5 on the various advanced placement exams. All cadets participate in an extracurricular activity, and physical fitness is a priority. The academy develops disciplined, morally strong, college-ready young men who are prepared for responsible leadership. All expenses are attributable to the school.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 82% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 86% 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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 77
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 54
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.3%; rating input score 60
  • Program expense ratio: 57.4%; rating input score 57
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.22 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • 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: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.3%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.14; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.8%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.4% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.5% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.3% of revenue deployed · 57.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $8.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $248K · 23 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $928K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 12 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 34/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.