Middlesex School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042103821
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Concord, MA, USA
Phone
9783692550
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$59,021,357
Expenses
$54,692,137
Assets
$556,036,805
Liabilities
$140,522,830

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

Leadership & pay

42 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JASON ROBART (PRESIDENT)
  • ALLEN J MODEL (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ANNE T BASS (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ROBERT M BASS (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH SPEERS (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $836,149 total reported compensation
  • KARLYN MCNALL (ASSOCIATE HEAD OF SCHOOL): $518,019 total reported compensation
  • THERESE CUNNINGHAM (CFO): $395,959 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Middlesex school helps students find their promise through rigorous intellectual, physical, creative, and ethical education. We value integrity, kindness, inclusivity, excellence, and engagement in service or our community and the wider world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Middlesex school is a non-sectarian college preparatory boarding and day school for boys and girls in grades 9-12. Middlesex has always prided itself in attracting a diverse, highly motivated group of students from across the country and more recently the world. Current enrollment is about 420 students from many states and countries. Founded in 1901, the school has a long tradition of placing students in the most selective colleges. Middlesex offers a challenging academic program. In addition to its school year program, middlesex makes use of its campus facilities for summer auxiliary programs consistent with its primary mission.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 79% for direct work, and 21% for grants.
  • 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 98
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 81.4%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 73.6%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 4th 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.5%; rating input score 99; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 97%; rating input score 97; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 7.3%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.17; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.25; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.3%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 81.4% of revenue deployed · 73.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 32 of 33 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $40.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $836K · 42 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $19.4M reported
  • Consistency: 43 of 45 current checks pass · 2 findings to review
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 13 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 3 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 21/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.