The Lamplighter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
756059993
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Dallas, TX, USA
Phone
2143699201
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$16,624,688
Expenses
$16,584,855
Assets
$67,864,456
Liabilities
$4,655,630

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JOAN HILL (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $488,533 total reported compensation
  • MARYNELL MURPHY (COO): $236,168 total reported compensation
  • CHARLES ANGEL (CFO - RETIRED 02/23/25): $180,348 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

See schedule o.

What it reported doing in 2024

The lamplighter school concentrates on early childhood learning for students in pre-kindergarten through fourth grade, enrolling 456 students during the fiscal year. The school embraces the way young children actually learn, helps prepare the children for the world they will inherit, integrates serious education into activities children find captivating, and inspires each child toward a lifetime of learning and a love of learning. Through the founders' vision for primary education based on real-world experience and true understanding of young learners and through partnerships with major nonprofits within the community allowing students to visit and interact with organizations such as southern methodist university school of education, perot museum, and the dallas arboretum and botanical garden, the lamplighter school has been showcased as part of the community's innovators and achievers.

Operating model

Revenue model
Other-operating. 89% of the money available for current operations came from other operating revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 96% 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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 51
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.9%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: 0.2%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.09; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 6.7% per year; rating input score 100; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.9% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $13.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $489K · 32 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $320K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 39 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 8 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 21/100.