Minneapolis Academy Charter School 4115

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
050575923
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2015
Forms available
Form 990 2015
Location
Minneapolis, MN, USA
Phone
6124551340
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Charter Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,982,308
Expenses
$2,118,278
Assets
$599,190
Liabilities
$1,329,221

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr Kathleen Mortenson (Former Exec Dir): $113,618 total reported compensation
  • Angela Halama (Secretary): $58,069 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2015. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Minneapolis Academy is the first independent college preparatory middle school in Minneapolis, providing children from all walks of life and of all abilities with an educational opportunity that is generally not available to most lower-income and working class families. Founded by educators and community leaders in 2004, the Academy's primary mission is to provide all of its students with the knowledge, skills and character to graduate from High School, and the confidence to continue on and successfully complete their post-secondary education. The Academy will accomplish this through a college preparatory educational program based on high expectations, rigorous academic performance, more time on task, and a safe and orderly environment driven by high standards of personal conduct and respect for others.

What it reported doing in 2015

Minneapolis Academy educated 133 students in grades 5 through 8 during the 2015-2016 school year, plus maintained the learning year program that encompassed Saturday School.On May 24, 2016, the Academy's authorizer, Friends of Education, notified the board of directors that it will not renew the charter contract after June 30, 2016. The Academy is discontinuing operations and will no longer be serving students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 99% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 87
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 87.8%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 81.1%; rating input score 81
  • Fundraising efficiency: $607.66 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 97; 97th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -6.9%; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.22; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.1%; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.6% per year; rating input score 0; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -1% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -7.6% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 87.8% of revenue deployed · 81.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $114K · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $173K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2010 to 2015
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 19/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 43/100.