The Academy at Charlemont Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
042724993
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Charlemont, MA, USA
Phone
4133394912
Rating
84
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,424,666
Expenses
$3,464,504
Assets
$2,850,143
Liabilities
$1,210,361

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHN SCHATZ (ASSOCIATE HE): $90,306 total reported compensation
  • NEALE GAY (ASSOCIATE HE): $90,275 total reported compensation
  • NORA BATES ZALE (ASSOCIATE HE): $90,190 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 academy at charlemont delivers a rigourous education and fosters joyful engagement, active citizenship, and the desire for justice in each student. Our community nurtures creativity, independent thinking, and empathy so that our students become their best selves.

What it reported doing in 2024

The academy is a public-spirited independent school that combines the best of the classical academic tradition with a visible commitment to building and sustaining community. We believe that the academic, liberal arts tradition is a challenging, intellectually stimulating ground on which young people can both learn to use their minds well, and furnish those minds with the kind of broad, basic knowledge needed to succeed in college and as citizens of the world. We believe in emphasizing connections amoung the academic disciplines because real world challenges require citizens to think beyond the discrete boundaries of academic disciplines, and to look at things from many different angles. We believe that a school community based on the values of self-reliance, industry, integrity, and compassion encourgages the development of intellectual and social standards that reflect those values. We believe that affirming the uniqueness of each individual and at the same time insisting that the individuals subscribe to a set of commonly held standards: civility, respect, concern for others, produces a healthy tension that helps students learn, grow, and become productive citizens.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 81% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 60% for direct work, and 40% for grants.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Revenue has declined or grown slowly and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 30
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.4%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 87.1%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $33.97 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 72; 72nd 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: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 16th 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: Pass
    • 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: -1.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.82; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.42; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.8%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.1% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.4% of revenue deployed · 87.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $90K · 18 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $191K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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 — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 31/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 25/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.