Ron Clark Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203028755
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Atlanta, GA, USA
Phone
6786512100
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,331,642
Expenses
$16,862,390
Assets
$32,011,597
Liabilities
$3,537,930

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • RON CLARK (CO-FNDER PRESID): $563,102 total reported compensation
  • KIM BEARDEN (CO-FNDER ED): $484,096 total reported compensation
  • KIRK BROWN (CHIEF DEVLM COMM): $252,336 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

A highly acclaimed nonprofit middle school in atlanta, ga that promotes innovation and engages its students through energetic teaching balanced by a strict code of discipline. Our goal is to extend our reach beyond our student body by having an impact upon students everywhere.

What it reported doing in 2024

To deliver the highest quality educational experience where global citizens are born through engaging teaching methods, academic excellence, relationship building, and a passionate climate and culture.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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 available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.5%; rating input score 83
  • Program expense ratio: 76.2%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.48 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd 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: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 2.7%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.9; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.2%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.5% of revenue deployed · 76.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 22 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $12.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $563K · 27 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $609K reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 13/100.