Opportunity Charter School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 201157094
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- New York, NY, USA
- Phone
- 2128666137
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $11,020,404
- Expenses
- $12,049,285
- Assets
- $5,841,320
- Liabilities
- $1,257,791
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LEONARD GOLDBERG (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- EMILY SAMUELS (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $364,646 total reported compensation
- JESSICA MARCU (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $338,912 total reported compensation
- LEONARD GOLDBERG (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $283,369 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
At opportunity charter school, we welcome all students in grades 6 through 12, regardless of previous academic success: students who are yearning to learn, students who have fallen behind, students who have been told their aspirations are beyond reach.through a positive belief in every student's promise, we are committed to bringing their potential to life.we provide staff and students with a safe, supportive environment in which to pursue personal development through an individualized plan tailored to their unique needs.we nurture intellectual and personal growth. Students receive differentiated instruction in every curricular area from our highly-trained staff, with the goal of expanding their higher cognitive functioning.our school culture is performance-driven and results-oriented. Students graduate having achieved a clearly demonstrated academic and social foundation, as well as a deep understanding of their own strengths and weaknesses.
What it reported doing in 2024
High school:- in 2024-2025, ocs students graduated high school within 4 years at 91%, 6 percentage points above the comparison group in 2024-2025.- in 2024-2025, ocs students achieved a 100% attendance rate, scoring 19 percentage points above the comparison group in 2024-2025.- in 2024-2025, ocs achieved 96% for 4-year high school persistence rate, which is comparable to the comparison group from 2024-2025.
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
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 expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 17
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 96.3%; rating input score 96
- Program expense ratio: 88.5%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: $0.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
- Compensation committee: Pass
- 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: Limited
- 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -9.3%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.48; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 14.4%; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.1% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 15th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 8.1% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 96.3% of revenue deployed · 88.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $10.7M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $365K · 16 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $851K reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 1/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 9/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.