The Franklin School of Innovation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461548530
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Asheville, NC, USA
Phone
8283188140
Rating
75
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$10,520,926
Expenses
$10,784,365
Assets
$29,227,440
Liabilities
$24,454,662

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

People named in this filing

  • Elizabeth Russo (Member)
  • Jon Blalock (Secretary)
  • Jaime Grob-Grinnell (Member)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Operation of a public charter school.

What it reported doing in 2024

Operation of a charter school in Asheville, North Carolina, serving approximately 718 students for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2025.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 83% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 55
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 61.9%; rating input score 62
  • Program expense ratio: 60.4%; rating input score 60
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.26 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -2.5%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.71; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.84; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 96; 96th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.3% per year; rating input score 100; 78th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.8% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 25.2% per year; rating input score 100; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 61.9% of revenue deployed · 60.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 12 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 1/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Document-retention policy not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.