Orion Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943315141
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Concord, CA, USA
Phone
9253770789
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,716,456
Expenses
$1,770,028
Assets
$3,382,976
Liabilities
$2,496,563

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NANCY WALLACE (DIRECTOR - UNTIL 10/24, PRESIDENT)
  • DAVID RICHTER (PRESIDENT - UNTIL 10/24, TREASURER)
  • KATHRYN STEWART (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • KATHRYN STEWART (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $165,020 total reported compensation
  • MEG MUYSKENS (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $117,692 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH DEPERALTA (SCHOOL COUNSELOR): $104,350 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 educate secondary students with nld, asperger's syndrome and other neurocognitive disorders in a program that equally emphasizes academics, social competency and pragmatic language development.

What it reported doing in 2024

Orion academy is a day school designed to provide a comprehensive program for high school students whose academic success is compromised by a neurocognitive disability. Orion academy students are bright young people with the potential for success, but as a result of their disability and traditional teaching models often fail to realize their potential.orion academy offers their students a program uniquely tailored to their strengths and needs. Orion academy's program is designed to target individual social growth, transitions skills and academic excellence for students with neurocognitive disabilities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 93% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - 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: 60
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 91
  • Sustainability: 34
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.6%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 59.7%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $15.55 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.1%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.91; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.74; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 21.9%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.9% per year; rating input score 0; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.4% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.6% of revenue deployed · 59.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $165K · 9 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 30 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 51/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.