St George Foundation for the Classics

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
863160521
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2022
Location
Jackson, MI, USA
Phone
5172953735
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,979,783
Expenses
$431,025
Assets
$3,583,563
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Joseph Gruber (President)
  • Matthew Anderson (Vice President)
  • Richard Lomas (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Matthew Anderson (Vice President): $71,846 total reported compensation
  • John Paul Hendrickson (Secretary and Treasurer): $46,031 total reported compensation
  • Richard Lomas (Executive Director): $32,083 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The chief mission of the organization is to promote classical education in the Catholic tradition through the establishment of the Chesterton Academy of St. George.

What it reported doing in 2024

In the spring of 2024 the organization took over ownership of the property at 1000 E Porter St. During the year the organization made necessary upgrades to this property required for the Chesterton Foundation to operate as a school. These changes included decorating the space for the school structural changes to bring it up to fire code and landscaping. All these expenses helped provide a place for classical education to take place for many years to come.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 72% of its reported program spending out as grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 49
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 64
  • Sustainability: 84
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 10.6%; rating input score 11
  • Program expense ratio: 97%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3,599.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 99; 99th 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: 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: 85.7%; rating input score 86; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 89.2%; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 8.31; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 97; 97th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: Limited

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 42.3% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 102.6% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 111.9% per year; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 10.6% of revenue deployed · 97% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 7 board members independent · 3 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $418K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 46 of 46 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.