Montessori Scholarship Organization, Inc. (MSO)

Legal name: Montessori Scholarship Organizationinc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
861002243
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2021
Official website data refreshed
Jul 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2021
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Phone
6232028766
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Scholarships, Student Financial Aid Services, Awards

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$284,429
Expenses
$470,004
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

2 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • THERESA M GREWE (Chairman): $11,045 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Montessori Scholarship Organization, Inc. (MSO) accepts tax credit donations from individuals/corporations for scholarships to be awarded to school age children in Arizona

What it reported doing in 2021

Montessori Scholarship Organization, Inc. (MSO) accepts tax credit donations, generally in the range of $1 to $2,435, from individuals who may designate the school which they want to benefit their donation.corporations donation generally exceed $5,000 and the maximum amount is limited to the available tax credits as determined by the state of Arizona The schools are advised of the total money available to their school, and they are required to complete "Request For Scholarships" form to determine eligibility. The requirements for MSO are that the child is school age and that they are an Arizona resident. MSO collected $284,430 in scholarship money. Scholarships in the amount of $405,252 were awarded to one hundred and fourteen (114) children at eight (8) private schools in Arizona.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 86% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 89
  • Transparency & Controls: 89
  • Accountability: 0
  • Sustainability: 6
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

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

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 0 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Fail
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Fail
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -65.2%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.3%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 28.2% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -41.2% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -200% per year; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 2 board members independent · 0 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $470K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $11K · 2 people listed
  • Consistency: 16 of 17 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2020 to 2021
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Accountability: Governance controls: 8 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 1/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.