Proof School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
463770194
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone
4159300182
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,164,213
Expenses
$6,650,201
Assets
$19,536,521
Liabilities
$9,071,608

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SAMUEL VANDERVELDE (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $293,292 total reported compensation
  • ZACHARY SIFUENTES (DEAN OF HUMANITIES): $261,875 total reported compensation
  • KATHY LIN (DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS): $253,993 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Proof school offers a transformative liberal arts education to young people with an active curiosity and a passion for mathematics, equipping them to reason, communicate, and positively impact their world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Proof school delivered a comprehensive middle and high school curriculum to a total of 125 students in grades 6-12 during the 2024-25 academic year. School was in session for 171 days; the school held info sessions, ran admissions, and graduated 15 students. The goal for the school continues to be to provide a world class education for students in the bay area who love math.

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 80% 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 total spending goes to programs and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 78
  • Sustainability: 69
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 56.2%; rating input score 56
  • Program expense ratio: 91.9%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $235.07 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 77.8%; rating input score 78; 14th 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: 40.4%; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.94; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 22.1%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.3% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 56.2% of revenue deployed · 91.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 9 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $293K · 16 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.