The Branson School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 940338330
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Ross, CA, US
- Phone
- 415-454-3612
- Rating
- 73
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Secondary, High School
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $36,694,267
- Expenses
- $32,729,494
- Assets
- $108,483,084
- Liabilities
- $50,940,634
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
36 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- CHRISTINA K MAZZOLA (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $771,487 total reported compensation
- JIM ZIMMERMAN (CAO): $426,217 total reported compensation
- DAVID HANSON (CFOO): $393,872 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 Branson School is a college-preparatory day school that fosters academic excellence, personal growth, and community engagement in a supportive environment.
What it reported doing in 2024
The branson school maintains and conducts a secondary school for approximately 395 girls and boys in which they are provided with such instruction and education that shall be adequate for the preparation of students for admission to universities and colleges of the highest attainment. The branson school encourages students to think critically, communicate clearly, develop their individual talents and interests, and pursue a life-long passion for learning.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 74% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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
SUPPORTED - 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: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 77
- Accountability: 91
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 62.7%; rating input score 63
- Program expense ratio: 71.8%; rating input score 72
- Fundraising efficiency: $2.81 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- 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; 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: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 10.8%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.31; rating input score 77; 77th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.47; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.9%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 5.4% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.2% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 62.7% of revenue deployed · 71.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 29 of 29 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $23.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $771K · 36 people listed · 5 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.4M reported
- Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 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
- 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.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 10/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 9 not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 30/100.