Stepstone Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
454870208
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone
4402606400
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,744,139
Expenses
$2,975,568
Assets
$3,393,905
Liabilities
$4,160,211

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

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jeff Thompson (Board President)
  • Dr Jimmie Gray (Board Vice President)

People named in this filing

  • Jeff Thompson (Board President)
  • Natalie Bata (Board Member)
  • Chris Arnold (Board Secretary)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

The mission of the school is to provide the highest quality education for students that fosters lifelong learning and prepares students to graduate from college and become productive, involved citizens.

What it reported doing in 2024

We foster a lifelong love of learning, and inspire in each student the goal of graduating from college as well as the values of academic achievement and participatory citizenship.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 59
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 77.3%; rating input score 77
  • Program expense ratio: 97.3%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 13th 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 7 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 20.5%; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.14; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.23; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.3% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.3% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 77.3% of revenue deployed · 97.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 7 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 7 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $3.3M reported
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 41/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.