Synapse School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
460631841
IRS 990 coverage
2015–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Menlo Park, CA, USA
Phone
6502944570
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$23,840,640
Expenses
$24,994,176
Assets
$64,389,776
Liabilities
$60,390,957

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JIM EAGEN (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $745,147 total reported compensation
  • ERIC STORY (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $231,588 total reported compensation
  • KATHERINE MORGAN (LS HEAD OF SCHOOL): $220,860 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Provide a comprehensive and balanced academic education for children grades k-8 based on the belief that children achieve at the highest academic level when they feel safe, valued, and cared about in an educational atmosphere that encourages the development of optimism and empathy for each other.

What it reported doing in 2024

Educational program - synapse school combines social-emotional learning, leading-edge academics, and the practice of innovation to develop gifted learners into the change makers of tomorrow. The school serves an enrollment of 300 students.general/admin synapse school requires a large amount of support in order for the educational program to function towards its goals.development synapse school requires additional revenue beyond its tuition base in order for the education program to achieve its goals.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 72% 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

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 33
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 76%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $28.24 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • 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: -4.8%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.58; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.94; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.8%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 14.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 11.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 23.9% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80% of revenue deployed · 76% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $19M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $745K · 17 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $273K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 filing years from 2015 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.