Montessori at Samish Woods
Legal name: Samish Montessori School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 800254417
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2008
- Location
- Bellingham, WA, US
- Phone
- (360) 650-9465
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $791,799
- Expenses
- $851,394
- Assets
- $735,979
- Liabilities
- $31,152
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
6 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jonathan Durham (President & Teacher)
- Jessica Tupper (Vice President & Teacher)
Highest reported compensation
- Jessica Tupper (Vice President & Teacher): $87,931 total reported compensation
- Jonathan Durham (President & Teacher): $77,117 total reported compensation
- Talmadge Connor (Board member & Teacher): $75,329 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Our goal is to provide each child with a learning environment free of criticism and competition that helps develop a love of learning and skills of organization, coordination, concentration and independence.
What it reported doing in 2024
Our sole program service is our school. We cultivate a love of learning through real life experience; provide a safe place for children to explore and express their individuality while respecting the rights of others and the community as a whole; encourage people to be internally motivated, competent, and able decision-makers, developing responsibility for choices and empathy for self and others.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 97% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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 fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 72
- Transparency & Controls: 93
- Accountability: 52
- Sustainability: 27
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.5%; rating input score 82
- Program expense ratio: 78.1%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $0.91 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 33.3%; rating input score 33; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- 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: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -7.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.86; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.04; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 36.6%; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 82.5% of revenue deployed · 78.1% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $665K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $88K · 6 people listed
- Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes grants
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- 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 33/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 38/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 4/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.