The Blake School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237243247
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Hopkins, MN, USA
Phone
9529883459
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$62,197,304
Expenses
$64,856,060
Assets
$206,331,519
Liabilities
$41,157,836

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • STAVNEY ANNE E (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $975,781 total reported compensation
  • KELLEY DANIEL A (CFO/COO): $433,820 total reported compensation
  • SILVESTRI JOSEPH P (DIRECTOR, ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE): $285,810 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 Blake School mission is to provide an exceptional liberal arts education that inspires students to pursue lives of purpose, embrace challenges with confidence, and contribute to a more just and equitable world.

What it reported doing in 2024

The blake school is an independent pre-kindergarten through grade 12 school serving students throughout the twin cities with campuses located in minneapolis and hopkins. Enrollment in 2024-2025 was 1,319 students. In support of its commitment to cultural and socioeconomic diversity as being an essential part of its educational goals, the school granted $9,079,973 in financial aid to 337 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 91% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 82% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 78
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.5%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 82.2%; rating input score 82
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.04 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Pass
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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; 77th 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: -4.3%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.18; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.2%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.6% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.9% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 88.5% of revenue deployed · 82.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 20 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $53.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $976K · 27 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $7.6M reported
  • Consistency: 38 of 39 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 7 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.

  • High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 6/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.