The Bridge Avenue School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201904717
IRS 990 coverage
2019–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2018
Location
Cleveland, OH, USA
Phone
2169658426
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Secondary, High School
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$319,490
Expenses
$322,158
Assets
$169,690
Liabilities
$-478

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Angela Leonard (Teacher): $40,703 total reported compensation
  • Casey Ensell (Teacher): $39,636 total reported compensation
  • Principal (Daniel McElwain): $36,092 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 mission of The Bridge Avenue School is to provide, in a Christ-centered environment, opportunities for previously unsuccessful 5th through 8th grade-aged students to develop life skills and academic knowledge needed to become responsible and successful citizens.

What it reported doing in 2024

The Bridge Avenue School operates a day school that meets the state of Ohio requirements for private schools. This Program area includes teacher salaries, our lunch program, our advisory program, and all academic-related expenses.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 68% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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.
  • 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.4%; rating input score 78
  • Program expense ratio: 77.7%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1,341.02 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.8%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.53; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 59.6%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.6% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.4% of revenue deployed · 77.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $250K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $41K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 42 of 42 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2019 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 2/100.