Soundview School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
911832492
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Lynnwood, WA, USA
Phone
4257788572
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,538,613
Expenses
$3,684,045
Assets
$4,023,688
Liabilities
$3,314,066

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

Leadership & pay

16 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHAWN HEIDEL (PRESIDENT)
  • NANI VISHWANATH (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • CHRIS WATSON (HEAD OF SCHOOL (UNTIL 06/2025)): $269,087 total reported compensation
  • HAZEL ESTRELLA (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & OPERATIONS): $111,757 total reported compensation
  • CHRISTEN SINCLAIR (ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL): $107,995 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Soundview school (the school) centers the student experience on the knowledge, compassion, and ethics that lay the foundation for citizenship and leadership. Our students learn at a conceptual level across all disciplines, and they use this knowledge to engage with issues that matter in our world. They practice service, empathy, and respect to make the lives of other people better. Our school is guided by fairness and justice, in our curriculum and community. We value diversity and safety, and we're focused on whole people and families.

What it reported doing in 2024

Our mission guides every decision and action at the school. It differentiates us and shapes the excellence of our programs. Our students build habits and mindsets based on the elements of our mission. They learn social responsibility and the competencies of citizenship and leadership. Througout their lives, our students continue to live our mission as they serve their communities into the future. We are also guided by our mission when planning and executing after-school activities and our summer camp programs.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 92% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 90% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 26
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 76.1%; rating input score 76
  • Program expense ratio: 73.3%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 22nd 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: 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: -4.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.09; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.82; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 13.3%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 76.1% of revenue deployed · 73.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $269K · 16 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.