The Ellis School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 250965329
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Phone
- 4126615992
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $16,222,915
- Expenses
- $17,849,430
- Assets
- $54,492,173
- Liabilities
- $7,204,257
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
24 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- LAUREN BEDELL (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS): $170,959 total reported compensation
- MACON FINLEY RETIRED (FORMER HEAD OF SCHOOL): $142,504 total reported compensation
- CLAIRE DEVEREUX (DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT AN): $138,323 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
An independent college preparatory school for girls from age three through twelfth grade.
What it reported doing in 2024
The ellis school is pittsburgh's only age 3 to grade 12 independent school dedicated to the education of girls, making ellis a unique regional resource. Ellis is committed to preparing, empowering, and inspiring each and every girl through an excellent education in an all-girls environment. The ellis experience is both nurturing and academically challenging; ellis girls are free to know themselves, discover their gifts, and find their own voices, all of which maximize girls' intellectual, physical, emotional, and social growth. At ellis, girls of all ages learn to take academic risks, work collaboratively, ask questions, and pursue their dreams. With a total enrollment of 404 students, the average classroom size is 12-14 students. Of our 61 faculty members, 67 percent hold master's degrees and 1 member hold phds. With an overall student-to-teacher ratio of 6:1, students across all divisions benefit from an intimate learning environment and individual attention. The student body represents 61 zip codes and 27 school districts, with 53.4 percent of students receiving need-based financial aid awards and scholarships. One hundred years of ellis educational excellence has resulted in 3,000+ alumnae who comprise an international network of support for ellis students.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 87% 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 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.
- 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: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 95
- Sustainability: 42
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 88.4%; rating input score 88
- Fundraising efficiency: $1.8 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: 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: 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: Pass
- 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%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.05; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.1%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 4.8% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 88.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $15.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $171K · 24 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $2.1M reported
- Consistency: 36 of 36 current checks pass
- Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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 5/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 10/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.