The Foundation for the Iowa City Community School District

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
421177023
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Iowa City, IA, USA
Phone
3196881012
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,773,174
Expenses
$1,256,976
Assets
$5,130,221
Liabilities
$0

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • HEIAR RYAN (PRESIDENT)
  • HUGHES EMILY (PRESIDENT ELECT)
  • KOCH NATHAN (PAST PRESIDENT)
  • EBINGER LAURA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • EBINGER LAURA (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $100,977 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 foundation for the Iowa city community school district connects the community with our schools to ensure every student has extraordinary learning experiences. Together we empower teachers and district staff and inspire students to learn.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation solicits unrestricted contributions and manages and distributes restricted contributions for purposes restricted by donors. In the year ended june 30, 2025, the foundation distributed $767,750 to the Iowa city community school district and other associated groups to support 28 schools and many school groups within the district. In addition, scholarships and awards totaling $221,738 were distributed for the benefit of 95 recipients. The distributions and scholarships enhance educational opportunities for students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 88% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 94% of its reported program spending out as 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 70
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 81
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 63.4%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 83.4%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.95 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 29.1%; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.08; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.5%; rating input score 59; 59th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.4% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 63.4% of revenue deployed · 83.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 17 of 17 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $101K · 18 people listed
  • Consistency: 23 of 24 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 59/100.