The Mardan Foundation of Educational Therapy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
952547940
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Irvine, CA, USA
Phone
9497331500
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,321,691
Expenses
$3,150,712
Assets
$7,990,990
Liabilities
$267,980

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • PETER CANDELA (THERAPIST): $178,320 total reported compensation
  • TERRIE GERO-SMEAD (DIR OF FINANCE/HR): $149,347 total reported compensation
  • ERIN ROSENTHAL (PROGRAM DIRECTOR): $137,863 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Mardan school's mission is to improve the academic and emotional well-being of any child who struggles with learning, social, and/or emotional challenges. Mardan provides a safe, therapeutic learning environment that teaches and supports the necessary academic, social, and coping skills needed for students to experience success.

What it reported doing in 2024

The foundation operates a school for students who have learning disabilities and emotional problems. Some students are charged tuition based upon ability to pay. Their scholarship (tuition reduction) is based upon financial need, and is determined based upon a review of the financial resources and expenses of their families. Tuition reduction for the year ended august 31, 2025 was $47,582.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 87% 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

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: 78
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 55
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 78.9%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $11.86 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd 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: Limited
  • 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: 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: 5.1%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.54; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.2%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 5% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.5% per year; rating input score 100; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 78.9% of revenue deployed · 88.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 43/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.