Rex & Margaret Fortune School of Education

Legal name: Rex and Margaret Fortune School of Education

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
943187528
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Sacramento, CA, US
Phone
(916) 924-8633
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$52,228,321
Expenses
$53,806,108
Assets
$101,178,668
Liabilities
$93,741,553

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • MARGARET G FORTUNE (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARGARET G FORTUNE (PRESIDENT/CEO): $343,668 total reported compensation
  • BONNIE BENSEN (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $297,252 total reported compensation
  • MICHELLE GRACE (SECRETARY): $258,219 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Graduating scholars of good character prepared for college and citizenship in a democratic society

What it reported doing in 2024

Credentialing programs: preservice program - 150 clock hours of training is provided prior to entering the classroom as a teacher intern. This coursework is a pre-requisite for the district intern program. The district intern credential program provides an alternative path to teacher certification for single subject - middle school/high school (grades 7-12) general education teachers, a mild, moderate disabilities levels i & ii credential for education specialist teachers, and a multiple subject credential for grades k-8 teachers in self-contained classes. The program includes two years of professional development coursework completed on weekends from september through june of each year while simultaneously teaching on an intern credential. The school leadership program results in the California administrative services credential or charter school leader certificate. This 1-year intensive leadership program is focused on producing charter school leaders who will develop and lead high-quality charter schools in high need areas. The pk-3 ece specialist instruction credential is in development and will provide a bridge and accelerated pathway for current multiple subject credential holders as well as child development teacher permit holders with a ba degree to earn the credential and begin serving in transitional kindergarten settings. Fortune master's program explores the connections between education and social justice, focusing on research, policy, and societal issues. Graduates will earn a master of arts in education and social justice.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 93% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.5%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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; 77th 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.88; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.93; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.3%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.7% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.5% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $49.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $344K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.7M reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.