The Hope School Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
371385176
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Springfield, IL, USA
Phone
2175855437
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Single Organization Support

Reported finances

Revenue
$925,430
Expenses
$1,582,313
Assets
$19,916,709
Liabilities
$4,856,303

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

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • CLINT PAUL (PRESIDENT/CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • CLINT PAUL (PRESIDENT/CEO): $447,963 total reported compensation
  • STEVE HELM (CFO): $180,744 total reported compensation
  • JODI OGILVY (CHIEF COMMUNICATION AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER): $128,886 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 hope school foundation is to provide financial support for the hope school, vision for hope, and hope clinical care and all of its programs, including: the hope learning academy springfield, the hope learning academy of chicago, the autism clinic at hope, the residential academy and the vocational academy.

What it reported doing in 2024

The hope school foundation supports the activities of the hope school, vision for hope, and hope clinical care through grantmaking, fundraising and development events, direct mail solicitations, and grant seeking activities. The hope school foundation supports hope programs across the entire hope business structure through discretionary grants awarded for specific organizational needs. For example, the foundation has provided support for training and professional development of hope staff, indoor sensory play area for the autism clinic, and refurbishing the hope learning academy gym. Additionally, the foundation's grantmaking program will provide partial tuition reimbursement for hope employees' continuing education. Separately, the hope development team hosts several events that supports hope's program, including style of hope, the hopeful futures gala, glo bingo, and blues and brews. The foundation also partners with local dealerships to run an annual dream car raffle to benefit the children of hope. These fundraisers, coupled with four annual direct mailings across the united states, solicit funds to support hope programming and foundation grant making. Finally, the foundation supports grant seeking and further development opportunities for our growing organization.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 100% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 51
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 35
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 73.7%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 28.8%; rating input score 29
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.67 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 19th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: No; rating input score 0

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 90%; rating input score 90; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • 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: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -71%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 12.59; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.24; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.6%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 73.7% of revenue deployed · 28.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $456K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $448K · 12 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 31 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 29/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 3/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
  • High — Transparency & Controls: Related-party transparency scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Schedule R controlled transactions itemized did not reconcile in the filed values.