The New Common School Foundation

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
383326860
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Detroit, MI, USA
Phone
3133688580
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Student Services, Organizations of Students

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,197,675
Expenses
$7,296,448
Assets
$44,150,067
Liabilities
$8,639,556

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

Leadership & pay

4 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • W CLARK DURANT III (PRESIDENT/TREASURER)

Highest reported compensation

  • W CLARK DURANT III (PRESIDENT/TREASURER): $512,172 total reported compensation
  • MARY ANN JOHNSON (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE): $174,040 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 foundation's purpose is to explore the promotion of excellence in education, both public and private, with the expanded use of volunteers and tutors, the development of funding sources, the transformation of teaching and learning, the formation of character in the jesuit tradition of holiness, and seeking efforts to develop one or all of what the rev. Dr. Martin luther king called the three dimensions of the complete life, alone in or in partnership with secular and religious orders. Further to promote direct grants, contributions, loans and/or other fund assistance to local and national religious organizations, nonprofit organizations and to public charter school management companies to accomplish the foregoing; and to receive and administer funds for such purposes.

What it reported doing in 2024

The new common school foundation (the foundation) is helping to research, develop, create, and support a new common school for public school students. It also is seeking to support learnings in reading and math instruction while also helping to create career opportunities for urban children. The foundation has worked to purchase, develop, and/or maintain higher quality learning environments while creating partnerships with the cornerstone education group to achieve its complete life mission to serve 2,500 or more students in the city of detroit.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 55% for direct work, and 45% for grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 68
  • Accountability: 81
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.1%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $16.2 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 17th 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: 99.2%; rating input score 99; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: 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: -1.4%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 6.05; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.2; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.6% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2.8% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.1% of revenue deployed · 88.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 2 of 3 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $512K · 4 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $161K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 10 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 53/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 28/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 44/100.