Northstar International Academyinc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 262112480
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Southaven, MS, USA
- Phone
- 6628924300
- Rating
- 62
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Specialized Education Institutions
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,772,840
- Expenses
- $3,716,349
- Assets
- $876,527
- Liabilities
- $227,612
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
4 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- DUANE JOBE (DIRECTOR): $167,981 total reported compensation
- JED HALE (DIRECTOR): $138,173 total reported compensation
- STEPHANIE SHAFER (EXECUTIVE DI): $115,516 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Northstar international academy (nsa) operates a christian on-line school for grades 4-12. Since the school is regionally accredited by recognized accrediting agencies, students who successfully complete classes at nsa are able to transfer to secondary schools anywhere in the USA. Nsa offers educational opportunities similar to local schools in the USA. Nsa does not operate a for profit business but rather a school/ministry to service those in a particular need area.
What it reported doing in 2024
Northstar international academy provides curriculum and instruction for grades 4-12 through the primary interface of applications riding on the internet. During the school year ended june 30, 2025 northstar academy served around 2,000. Students taking anywhere from one to eight classes per student. The students are residing in over 79 different countries with 60% of the student body in the USA.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 99% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 60
- Accountability: 37
- Sustainability: 31
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.5%; rating input score 83
- Program expense ratio: 84.2%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Limited
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 1.5%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.24; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 10% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 82.5% of revenue deployed · 84.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3.1M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $168K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 23 of 23 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
- 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 39/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 7/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 38/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 54/100.