The Association of Boarding Schools

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
522206491
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2023
Location
Asheville, NC, USA
Phone
8282585354
Rating
57
Verdict
MIXED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,251,605
Expenses
$3,251,762
Assets
$2,860,854
Liabilities
$1,648,887

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SUSAN BALDRIDGE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSAN BALDRIDGE (PRESIDENT): $412,347 total reported compensation
  • EMILY BREITE (SR. VP MEMBER LEARNING & ENGAGEMENT): $239,852 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL GENTLE (ASSOCIATE VP, SPONSOR RELATIONS & DEVELOPMENT): $162,501 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 tabs mission is to counsel, connect, and champion boarding schools so they can transform the lives of their students.

What it reported doing in 2024

The association of boarding schools ("tabs") provided a variety of marketing support for member schools in its efforts to reach families considering boarding schools. To this end, the organization maintains a website, boardingschools.com, which is the essential online resource for information about boarding schools and boarding school life, with exclusive video content, narrative insights on boarding schools and what to expect, and guidance on school selection and the application process for both parents and students. The website also features a school browser that allows visitors to conduct custom searches of boarding schools.tabs actively promotes the value of boarding education, celebrating member achievements and amplifying the profound impact of boarding schools, enhancing their recognition worldwide. Members gain access to essential resources like data dashboards and marketing tools, alongside research that demonstrates the benefits of a boarding education and offers strategic insights for operational excellence. Tabs conducted a large-scale study designed to determine the outcomes associated with a boarding school education. The findings from this survey of nearly 10,000 north american high school students and over 1,500 alumni were released to the membership in a report entitled "the boarding advantage, and showed that the benefits of boarding are significant and long-lasting.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 98% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

MIXED - Most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 47
  • Transparency & Controls: 54
  • Accountability: 92
  • Sustainability: 28
  • Growth: 40

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 52.6%; rating input score 53
  • Program expense ratio: 52.8%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.58; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 29.5%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -3.4% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.4% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 52.6% of revenue deployed · 52.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $412K · 23 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $156K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes foreign activity and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.
  • 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.

  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 53/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 18/100.