Milestone Democratic School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
842551867
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2022
Forms available
Form 990 2022, Form 990-EZ 2019
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6083054332
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$828,688
Expenses
$1,041,333
Assets
$470,342
Liabilities
$738,576

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

People named in this filing

  • PHEOBE DEWITT (BOARD MEMBER)
  • APRIL FREUND (BOARD PRESID)
  • SHANNON GENT-NYDEN (BOARD MEMBER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

Establish and maintain a secondary school for the education of especially educationally disadvantaged members of the community, including youth in poverty, migrant and immigrant youth, youth racialized into oppressed identities, youth with disabilities, lgbtq+ youth, and youth living with trauma, that: is founded upon the principles of restorative, consensus- driven, participatory design; provides a curriculum determined by the iterative design of students, teachers, families, and communities; considers the responsibilities of governing the school to be a core learning component of the school, to be shared democratically among students, families, staff, and representatives of the community; and maintains a critical, iterative approach to its structure which allows on- going innovations in democratic participation.

What it reported doing in 2022

Milestone democratic school has established a school that provides full time learning. It's educational curriculum is and will continue to be certified under all state of Wisconsin department of public instruction requirements for up to 200 students admitted on a non preferential basis grades 6-12. Provides education to children in seventh through twelfth grade in an environment that focuses on democracy and equity.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 68% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 80.1%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 7 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -25.7%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.57; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 47.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 43.6% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 61.9% per year; rating input score 100; 97th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 80.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $834K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $440K reported
  • Consistency: 20 of 20 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2020 to 2022
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.