Nova Academy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 320079174
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2012–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Santa Ana, CA, USA
- Phone
- 7145690948
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $12,085,230
- Expenses
- $11,635,007
- Assets
- $33,369,362
- Liabilities
- $22,843,696
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- RENEE LANCASTER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- RENEE LANCASTER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $249,033 total reported compensation
- JOHN BOWEN (DIRECTOR, HR & OPERATIONS): $200,095 total reported compensation
- LISA HERNANDEZ (PRINCIPAL): $173,509 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To inspire, educate, and prepare all students to be successful in college, career, and in life. Nova academy helps educationally disadvantaged students enjoy greater academic success. Provides students with the opportunity to attend college classes in high school and seamlessly transition into higher education.
What it reported doing in 2024
Nova academy provides education at an early college level for high school students, grades 9-12. It operates two charter schools that work in partnership with their respective school districts. Both charter schools offer dual enrollment with opportunities for students to take transferable college courses from community college, private colleges and from the university of California schools. At both locations, students are able to enroll in college courses concurrently with charter school classes in order to successfully transition into higher education after high school.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 91% 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.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 79
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 49
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.6%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 94.1%; rating input score 94
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 3.7%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.87; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.68; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 9%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 8.7% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 21.7% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 90.6% of revenue deployed · 94.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 4 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $10.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $249K · 10 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $1.4M reported
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 24/100.