Seven Hills Preparatory Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
203107105
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Richfield, MN, USA
Phone
6123147600
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,715,268
Expenses
$18,270,682
Assets
$6,745,905
Liabilities
$12,512,093

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CAROLYN FARRELL (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • ED FELLOWS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (BEG 03/2025))

Highest reported compensation

  • CAROLYN FARRELL (INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $146,773 total reported compensation
  • RYAN GRUTSCH (PRINCIPAL): $136,849 total reported compensation
  • BRENT PETERSON (PRINCIPAL): $123,138 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Seven hills preparatory academy (shpa) engages students in a rigorous classical education, designed to prepare each one for strong citizenship and life-long learning.

What it reported doing in 2024

Shpa is an award-winning k-8 charter public school with campuses in bloomington and richfield. Shpa offers a classical education model grounded in the liberal arts and designed to engage students in a rigorous, content-rich curriculum. Seven hills students learn responsible study habits, critical thinking skills, and robust debate practices to prepare them to embark on a joyful pursuit of hard-earned wisdom. Seven hills offers a comprehensive character education program, promoting values of respect, compassion, and self-control and aspiring toward the classical virtues of truth, beauty, and goodness. Seven hills is committed to educational equity and believes in the inherent value of an inclusive learning environment where students and staff from all backgrounds work hard to prepare for a diverse and democratic world in which they make lasting contributions.shpa served 1,104 students during the fiscal year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 97% 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

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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 20
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 93.3%; rating input score 93
  • Program expense ratio: 90.5%; rating input score 90
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 72.7%; rating input score 73; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -3.1%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.85; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.7%; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.3% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 93.3% of revenue deployed · 90.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $16.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $147K · 15 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.8M reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.