The Keystone Science School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
461735364
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025
Location
Keystone, CO, USA
Phone
9704682098
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,620,785
Expenses
$3,904,772
Assets
$6,541,923
Liabilities
$473,647

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ERIC RIGHTOR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (FROM JAN.))

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIC RIGHTOR (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR (FROM JAN.)): $166,683 total reported compensation
  • MICHELLE PERL (INTERIM EXEC DIRECTOR (THRU JAN.)): $102,058 total reported compensation
  • GIOVANNA VOGE (FINANCE DIRECTOR (THRU SEPT.)): $69,594 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

With the outdoors as backdrop for learning, keystone science school inspires curiosity and critical thinking through the lens of science to change lives and strengthen communities.

What it reported doing in 2025

Keystone science school's summer camp programs provide diverse, high-quality learning experiences that combine science education, outdoor adventure, and traditional camp activities. Through day camps, overnight camps, and teen leadership programs, participants develop critical thinking skills, leadership abilities, and a lifelong appreciation for learning. To ensure financial accessibility, kss offers a robust scholarship program funded by generous donors, removing economic barriers to participation. Additionally, kss supports local working families by offering full-day camp options for k-8 students during school breaks. (continued on schedule o)the summit day camp and pathfinders programs provide sliding-scale tuition discounts exclusively for summit school district (ssd) students, ensuring broad accessibility. These programs integrate outdoor education, stem instruction, social-emotional learning, and literacy activities designed to mitigate summer learning loss, reinforcing kss's commitment to educational equity and community impact.in 2025 1,500 youth attended over 2,400 enrollments over the summer. Nearly 280 of those enrollments were provided at a discounted rate for ssd families.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 78% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 69
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 86
  • Sustainability: 32
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 72.8%; rating input score 73
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 75th 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 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -7.8%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.68; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.7%; rating input score 38; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.3% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79% of revenue deployed · 72.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $167K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 12/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 38/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.