Ridgeway Community School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
412015115
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Houston, MN, USA
Phone
5074549566
Rating
72
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,420,187
Expenses
$1,345,717
Assets
$981,207
Liabilities
$888,048

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • RHONDA ANDERSON (MEMBER/TEACHER): $48,973 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER KRINGS (MEMBER/TEACHER): $48,116 total reported compensation
  • DANIELLE HELMS (VICE CHAIR/TEACHER): $38,585 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Operation of a charter school, an academically challenging school with an emphasis on community and wellness that leaves a positive lasting impact.

What it reported doing in 2024

Operation of a charter school to prepare individuals for responsible, self-directed, lifelong learning, with an emphasis on traditional rural values of cooperation, respect, community service, and stewardship of the natural environment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 87% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and some related-organization disclosures are missing.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 67
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Program expense ratio: 79%; rating input score 79
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 42.9%; rating input score 43; 11th 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: 5.2%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.91; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.2%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 75% of revenue deployed · 79% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 3 of 7 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $49K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 43/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.