Mill Springs Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
581432397
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Alpharetta, GA, USA
Phone
7703601336
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,571,051
Expenses
$8,861,969
Assets
$14,822,097
Liabilities
$2,140,529

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • DEBRA M ORR (EX-HEAD OF SCHOOL): $147,488 total reported compensation
  • NADIA ROBINSON (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $145,461 total reported compensation
  • TOM HAYS (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $128,722 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Mill springs academy is a value-based educational community dedicated to the academic, physical and social growth of those students who have not realized their full potential in traditional classroom settings.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instruction & student support: mill springs academy (msa) is a fully accredited, independent school serving 165 students in grades k12 with learning differences, adhd, and asd profiles. Msa holds dual accreditation with cognia and the southern association of independent schools (sais).instruction is guided by individualized learning plans developed by a multidisciplinary team, including educators, learning specialists, speech-language pathologists, counselors, and administrators. Programming emphasizes functional academic mastery, executive functioning, literacy development, social communication, emotional regulation, and self-advocacy, ensuring students gain the academic, social, and life skills necessary to become real-world ready.msa provides a structured, nurturing environment that promotes accountability, resilience, and confidence through daily advisory programming, restorative practices, and strong family collaboration.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 94% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 91
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 73%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.71 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Limited
  • 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; 63rd 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: -17.1%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.67; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.2%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.4% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.3% of revenue deployed · 73% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $6.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 14 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 56/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.