Redwood Day School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
942289521
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Oakland, CA, USA
Phone
5105340800
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,680,104
Expenses
$17,644,734
Assets
$31,307,112
Liabilities
$8,574,432

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

Leadership & pay

24 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN LOESER (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $488,291 total reported compensation
  • DEANN HAYS (CFO/COO): $288,339 total reported compensation
  • ANTHONY CIFRA (LOWER SCHOOL DIRECTOR): $195,918 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Redwood day inspires students to reach for their next challenge, embrace differences and develop the intellectual and emotional courage to be ready for anything.

What it reported doing in 2024

Redwood day school is an independent, diverse kindergarten through eighth grade co-educational school that combines challenging academics, differentiated instruction, and a keen awareness of children's social and emotional development. Our intimate learning community of approximately 423 students sits on 3.5 acres in the heart of oakland and encourages students to discover and nurture their strengths as individual learners who thrive academically, contribute to society, and lead healthy, meaningful lives. Through keen attention to differentiated instruction and varied teaching methodologies, our program effectively supports a wide range of students. Our parents and guardians actively support the program in myriad ways, from participating in the parent guardian association, various committees, to in-class and around school volunteering. Redwood day school is truly a village, a strong community of committed educators and families who believe in the school's mission to nurture every child intellectually and emotionally.

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 83% 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

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: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 88
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84.3%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • 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: 88.2%; rating input score 88; 20th 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.77; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84.3% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 17 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $15.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $488K · 24 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 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.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 57/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.