Mesivta Shaarei Adirim

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
815312619
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Skokie, IL, USA
Phone
8479830646
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School
Affiliation
Judaism

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,268,775
Expenses
$1,086,345
Assets
$134,360
Liabilities
$493,523

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MR MORDECHAI TESSLER (PRESIDENT)
  • MR JEFF COHEN (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • MR MORDECHAI ELBAUM (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $137,491 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To empower our talmidim to be true bnei torah. Inspiring lifelong growth, through building confidence and a can do attitude, and by nurturing life skills.

What it reported doing in 2020

High school for boys - mesivta shaarei adirim is a high school for boys in grades 9-12 with a dual curriculum. Msa strives to imbue our students with self-confidence, motivation, perseverance, and responsibility, so that they may shine in their own individual way, and be inspired to succeed in all facets of their lives. We guide, nurture, and train our students through real life training and scenarios, and we challenge them to develop the skills they will need as adults.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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 a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: NotEnoughData

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 57.9%; rating input score 58
  • Program expense ratio: 67.7%; rating input score 68
  • Fundraising efficiency: $13.05 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 14.4%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.12; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 3.67; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.7%; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: Limited
  • Revenue growth: Limited
  • Asset growth: Limited

Details

  • Where the money goes: 57.9% of revenue deployed · 67.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $735K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $137K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 42/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 4/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 59/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 31/100.