Montessori Education Fund Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454458890
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2016, Form 990-N 2015
Location
Richmond, TX, USA
Phone
2812393400
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$72,902
Expenses
$95,931
Assets
$646,238
Liabilities
$2,419

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

5 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JULIETTA PALYAN (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • JULIETTA PALYAN (PRESIDENT)
  • TAMMY NGUYEN (VICE PRESIDE)
  • ALY CARBERRY (SECRETARY)

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 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Grounded in the principles and practices of the montessori education, our mission is to cultivate the greatest potential within every person.

What it reported doing in 2025

-provided tuition assistance for 25 students -awarded leadership grants to 13 students -donated a 3d printer to upper elementary -supplied new books for the classrooms. -supported the annual fall festival -contributed to the kerrville flood relief fund -sponsored a guest room at ballard house (a nonprofit hospitality home for families of cancer patients who come from out of town to receive cancer treatment at md anderson hospital) -supported the annual international festival -sponsored training for 1 lead guide to obtain certification

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 41% for direct work, and 59% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90%; rating input score 90; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 93.7%; rating input score 94; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -31.6%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.74; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4% per year; rating input score 0; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.5% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $84K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 5 people listed
  • Consistency: 20 of 21 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes grants
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2017 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 58/100.