Smart Academy
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 815056142
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2019–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
- Location
- Kent, OH, USA
- Phone
- 3304859675
- Rating
- 85
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $1,389,573
- Expenses
- $1,530,816
- Assets
- $563,362
- Liabilities
- $1,573,217
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
10 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Joe Nicklos (President)
- Josh Lane (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Dr Robert Aitken (Superintendent): $97,000 total reported compensation
- Joe Nicklos (President): $750 total reported compensation
- Josh Lane (Vice President): $750 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
SMART Academys mission is to provide all students in grades K-4 of the Cleveland Community a strong literacy-based educational program that creates a community in which reading writing speaking listening and thinking serve as a foundation for life-long learning.
What it reported doing in 2024
Provide educational services to 94 students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 100% 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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 84
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 19
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 98.2%; rating input score 98
- Program expense ratio: 89.2%; rating input score 89
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: Fail
- Other executive compensation review process: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: -10.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.37; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 2.79; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 6.5%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 14.4% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.9% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.4% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 98.2% of revenue deployed · 89.2% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $1.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $97K · 10 people listed
- Consistency: 43 of 43 current checks pass
- Schedules: 4 filed schedules
- Filing history: 6 filing years from 2019 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 1/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 49/100.