Monarch River Academy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 834510641
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Fresno, CA, USA
- Phone
- 5592580811
- Rating
- 76
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $24,638,813
- Expenses
- $22,268,269
- Assets
- $9,456,819
- Liabilities
- $2,019,512
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
13 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- SARAH SANCHEZ (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- STEPHANIE JOHNSON (SUPERINTENDENT): $234,098 total reported compensation
- STEVEN JAMES (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $223,946 total reported compensation
- JENNY PLUMB (ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT): $200,098 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
We believe in the importance of partnering with families to drive student learning. We leverage new technologies and embrace creative approaches to learning. We prioritize tailoring a student’s journey of learning to their unique requirements. We prioritize partnership and relationship building to create a supportive community for students and families.
What it reported doing in 2024
Operation of a public charter school in tulare county serving students in grades k-12. At monarch river academy, we have goals for our students that are known as schoolwide learner outcomes that reflect our school vision of college and career readiness and the education of the whole child.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 77% 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
SUPPORTED - 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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 73
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 78.5%; rating input score 79
- Program expense ratio: 86.9%; rating input score 87
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Pass
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 9.6%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.42; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.9%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 20.8% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 21.1% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 18.4% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 78.5% of revenue deployed · 86.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $19.3M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $234K · 13 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.8M reported
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 filed money-flow records
- 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 12/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.