Newton Schools Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 237065010
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Newton, MA, USA
- Phone
- 6175596120
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $406,694
- Expenses
- $326,053
- Assets
- $3,497,294
- Liabilities
- $181,431
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- THERESA FITZPATRICK (DIRECTOR/CO-PRESIDENT)
- KAREN MANNING (DIRECTOR/CO-PRESIDENT)
People named in this filing
- RHANNA KIDWELL (DIRECTOR)
- DIANA FISHER GOMBERG (DIRECTOR)
- KAREN CARROL BENNETT (DIRECTOR)
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 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
The advance excellence and equity in the newton public schools by funding and supporting promising initiatives, professional development, and programs that close gaps in achievement and opportunity.
What it reported doing in 2024
Newton schools foundation works with the public school system of newton, ma to provide financial and other support of three goals: incubation of promising and emerging approaches to teaching and learning with vibrant and dynamic curriculum, collaborative teachers who can evolve their practices, and actively engage students? Investment in opportunities to extend and deepen the teaching practices of educators through professional development that supplements the existing opportunities in the system? And, support of programs that reduce gaps in achievement and opportunity and promote equity in newton's diverse student population. In all cases, nsf works with school system administrators to understand the relevant needs or requests and to decide the activities to be supported.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 73
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 85.9%; rating input score 86
- Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 19.8%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 10.73; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.3% per year; rating input score 0; 29th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 45th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 85.9% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $270K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
- 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 35/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.