Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
580593430
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Rabun Gap, GA, USA
Phone
706.746.7467
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$33,069,429
Expenses
$34,998,442
Assets
$113,356,870
Liabilities
$27,223,262

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JEFFREY MILES (Head of School): $527,445 total reported compensation
  • ERIKA FARR (Associate HOS Operations): $227,361 total reported compensation
  • SCOTT CARLSON (Chief Financial Officer): $217,570 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School prepares young people for college, career, and a lifetime of leadership and service.

What it reported doing in 2024

Instruction - Rabun Gap - Nacoochee School is a more than 120-year-old independent boarding and day school providing co-education college-preparatory in grades PK through twelve that has a historic relationship with the Presbyterian Church. Rabun Gap - Nacoochee School (RGNS) sees an average enrollment of approximately 680 students from more than 50 countries and 15 states for the current fiscal year with an average class size of 12. Average enrollments for each division are 170 in the Lower School, 110 in the Middle School, and 400 in the Upper School. International students comprise approximately one-quarter of the student body. The faculty averages 15+ years of teaching experience. Of more than 80 faculty members, approximately 40 percent hold graduate degrees or higher. Advanced Placement (AP) courses are offered in all academic departments with over 120 students enrolled in at least one AP course and more than 80 percent of the AP candidates received a score of 3 or higher, making them eligible to receive college credit for their work. With more than 40 clubs, competitive athletic teams, and student organizations, students participate in a wide range of activities.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 87% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 60% for direct work, and 40% for grants.
  • 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 83
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 87%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.13 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 7; 7th 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: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Fail
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • 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: 88.9%; rating input score 89; 21st 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: -5.8%; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.24; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.9%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.3% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.1% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 13 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 96.1% of revenue deployed · 87% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $30.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $527K · 23 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $5.5M reported
  • Consistency: 41 of 41 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 5 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.
  • 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 7 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 15/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.