Muse School Ca (Fka Muse Elementary)

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
205494321
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Calabasas, CA, USA
Phone
8188805437
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,154,287
Expenses
$955,298
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SUZY AMIS CAMERON (PRESIDENT)
  • CYNTHIA AMBRES (CO-PRESIDENT)
  • REBECCA AMIS (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • JEFFREY KING (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $165,494 total reported compensation
  • REBECCA AMIS (PRESIDENT): $59,965 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Inspiring and preparing young people to live consciously with themselves, one another, and the planet.

What it reported doing in 2020

Education- creating an environmentally sustainable learning environment- continued emphasis on passion based learning (curriculum designed around individual student passions and interests)- movement performances (3 major culminations for movement class included for fall, spring, and "olympic" events)- continued commitment to global citizenship through french and spanish language instruction- vastly expanded music offering (wind, percussion, etc. With mentors)

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 69% 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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.1%; rating input score 71
  • Program expense ratio: 67.4%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $22.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 17.2%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 23.6%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -1.5% per year; rating input score 0; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.1% of revenue deployed · 67.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $644K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $165K · 7 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2010 to 2020
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: California registration: this organization is recorded as not currently operating in California.