Open School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
930757378
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5034885200
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,759,317
Expenses
$3,832,819
Assets
$6,877,602
Liabilities
$837,402

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • AMY RICHARDS (PRESIDENT)
  • CHRISTINE M PITTS PH D (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (INTERIM))
  • KIMBERLEE PIERCE SHENG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (FORMER))
  • AMY GRIMM- SEDITA (VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS)

Highest reported compensation

  • NAWWAL MOUSTAFA (OPEN SCHOOL EAST PRINCIPAL): $116,688 total reported compensation
  • AMY GRIMM- SEDITA (VICE PRESIDENT OF BUSINESS): $108,228 total reported compensation
  • MYLEN SHENKER (FINANCE DIRECTOR): $92,734 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of open school, inc. Is to develop connection, capability, and confidence in disconnected youth through relationship-based, quality learning experiences that result in academic, personal, and community success.

What it reported doing in 2024

Open school east: the open school east program, in partnership with centennial, gresham-barlow, parkrose, portland public, reynolds, and david douglas school districts, continued to deploy strategies designed to engage and accelerate off-track students in grades 9 through 12. Using early-warning indicators to identify young, marginalized students at risk of dropping out, the organization provides students with culturally inclusive, relationship-based, extended-day and -year school programming which focuses on engagement and skill-acceleration to prepare them for post-secondary success. Strategies include active recruitment of students, summer social-emotional leadership academy, restorative accountability, intensive family engagement, and preparation, emphasizing cultural identity, essential skills, social justice, and the arts. Staff from partner districts are provided professional development in best practices for engaging marginalized students, while assisting in teaching students at the school. The program is supported by the five partner school districts as well as private foundation and individual gifts.

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 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

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 program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.4%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 79%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: $9.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.79; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.12; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 10.9%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.7% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.4% of revenue deployed · 79% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $117K · 14 people listed
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
  • 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 37/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 55/100.