The Pathfinder School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208457978
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Traverse City, MI, USA
Phone
2319953800
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,558,005
Expenses
$2,689,335
Assets
$3,855,155
Liabilities
$567,011

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DINA KENNEDY (PRESIDENT)
  • ERIN WORD (CO-VICE PRESIDENT)
  • TISCH SCOTT (CO-VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • ERIC WYNN (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $58,270 total reported compensation
  • KARLINE JENSEN (BUSINESS OFFICER): $27,532 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 pathfinder school is an independent school serving children in preschool through 8th grade. The educational program is designed to foster intellectual curiousity and love of learning which is accomplished through small class sizes, dedicated teachers and an enriching, rigorous curriculum. Pathfinder draws from the five county grand traverse region. Approximately 25-33% of the students receive financial assistance. Pathfinder also hosts a seven week summer camp that is experiential and child-centered.

What it reported doing in 2024

The pathfinder school provides a vigorous experiential learning environment for children in grades pre-k through the eighth grade. Pathfinder also hosts an outdoor summer day camp. Pathfinder's program is distinguished by strong meaningful connections between teachers, students and parents, by a supportive learning environment that encourages a child to expand horizons and take risks, by the nurturing of students' intellectual curiosity and by the cultivation of a life-long love of learning. Students learn to think critically and creatively, to collaborate, to take initiative and responsibility, and to nurture their connection with the natural world.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 75% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 76% for direct work, and 24% for grants.
  • 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 74
  • Sustainability: 38
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.4%; rating input score 79
  • Program expense ratio: 75.5%; rating input score 76
  • Fundraising efficiency: $6.35 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 3 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 38
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -5.1%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.43; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.15; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.2%; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 39th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.4% of revenue deployed · 75.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 3 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $58K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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 — Accountability: Governance controls: 5 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 50/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.