The Exploris School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 262407296
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Raleigh, NC, USA
- Phone
- 9197153690
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Charter Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $6,293,415
- Expenses
- $5,712,891
- Assets
- $9,357,658
- Liabilities
- $502,142
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
16 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- DEBORAH BROWN (DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE GRADES): $106,619 total reported compensation
- JOSH CORBAT (DIRECTOR OF RESOURCES): $103,769 total reported compensation
- ETHAN BURTON (DIRECTOR OF ELEMENTARY GRA): $82,973 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To create a challenging and supportive learning community that engages each student in understanding and building a connected, just, and sustainable world.
What it reported doing in 2024
The exploris school is a public school operated by a non-profit corporation serving approximately 433 students from kindergarten through 8th grade.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 89% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 99% 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
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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 71
- Transparency & Controls: 94
- Accountability: 82
- Sustainability: 58
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 76.5%; rating input score 77
- Program expense ratio: 84.3%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- 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: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Fail
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- 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: 9.2%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.64; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 7.4%; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 19.3% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 76.5% of revenue deployed · 84.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 11 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $4.8M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $107K · 16 people listed
- Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
- 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 9 not reported.
- Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 55/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 39/100.