Southwest Chicago Christian School Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363590627
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Palos Heights, IL, USA
Phone
7083887656
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$17,525,422
Expenses
$20,434,385
Assets
$10,016,217
Liabilities
$2,559,022

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • David Gabrielse (President)
  • Curt Marcus (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Mark Hamstra (Superintendent): $180,833 total reported compensation
  • Nate Pettinga (Principal): $102,333 total reported compensation
  • Mike Drury (Principal): $101,814 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Christian education preK-12

What it reported doing in 2024

Provide Christian education for approximately 750 students

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 88
  • Transparency & Controls: 69
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 22
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 97.6%; rating input score 98
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • 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: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -16.6%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.49; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.9%; rating input score 78; 78th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 97.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $19.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $181K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.