Zeeland Christian School
Legal name: Society for Christian Instruction Zeeland
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 381566660
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Zeeland, MI, United States
- Phone
- (616) 772-2609
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
- Affiliation
- Christianity
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,569,422
- Expenses
- $12,246,256
- Assets
- $19,650,759
- Liabilities
- $3,137,879
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Jeff Dornbos (President)
- Stacey DeVries (Vice President)
Highest reported compensation
- Tom Dejonge (Head of School): $110,000 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To provide a high-quality Christian education based on the Reformed understanding of the Christian faith, as an extension of the Christian family, assisting parents in carrying out their responsibility to instruct their children in the Christian faith. Our Mission To provide a high-quality Christian education based on the Reformed understanding of the Christian faith. We do so as an extension of the Christian family, assisting parents in carrying out their responsibility to instruct their children in the Christian faith. Our Vision. Advancement We believe all families should have access to high-quality, Christ-centered education. See what we're doing to support this goal and help grow the Kingdom of God. LEARN MORE.
What it reported doing in 2024
Zeeland Christian School has been in existence for over 110 years. The School provides elementary (beginning with preschool)and middle school instruction (traditional, spanish immersion, and mandarin immersion) that is consistent with the teaching of the Holy Bible to the young people of the community. The School facilitates the instruction of high schoolers through the collection and remittance of tuition. The School provided a quality Christian education to 243 preschoolers and 724 K-8 students this year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 67% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 83
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 33
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 99.7%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 77.9%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 9; 9th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
- Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
- Requires narrative reports: Limited
- Conducts field audits: Limited
- May suspend future funding: Limited
- Requires financial reports: Limited
- Conducts site visits: Limited
- Requires grant agreements: Limited
- May require repayment: 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: -28%; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.6; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0.9%; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.2% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 2 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 99.7% of revenue deployed · 77.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $110K · 15 people listed
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, and grants
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
- Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
- 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 9/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 5/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Whistleblower policy not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 54/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.