The Rippowam Cisqua School Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 131740435
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Bedford, NY, USA
- Phone
- 9142441261
- Rating
- 75
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $26,171,323
- Expenses
- $22,751,259
- Assets
- $64,070,425
- Liabilities
- $27,971,252
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
30 people listed
Highest reported compensation
- Colm MacMahon (Head of School): $613,913 total reported compensation
- Erin Callaghan (Assistant Head of School): $351,118 total reported compensation
- Miles Cameron (Director of Innovation, Art Teacher): $268,457 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Rippowam Cisqua School creates independent thinkers, confident communicators, and engaged leaders who respect and contribute meaningfully to a diverse and increasingly complex global society.
What it reported doing in 2024
Private preparatory school of approximately 371 students for grades pre-kindergarten through grade nine.Rippowam Cisqua School believes that learning is a shared experience, the responsibility of both students and teachers. We urge active student involvement and seek to provide a rich curriculum in academics, arts, and athletics for children of different abilities and learning styles. Our approach to learning incorporates experimentation, simulation, and collective and individual problem solving, as well as traditional lecture, discussion, and skill development techniques - all toward the goal of attaining excellence. [See continuation on Schedule O]Students are challenged to demonstrate their competence in a variety of subjects, with emphasis placed on the written word, throughout their school career. The process by which children arrive at a final product is an important part of their education.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 65% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 81% 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. The filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 68
- Transparency & Controls: 73
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 62
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 69.1%; rating input score 69
- Program expense ratio: 78.8%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $6.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
- Compensation committee: Pass
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
- 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: 90%; rating input score 90; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
- 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: Fail
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 13.1%; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.82; rating input score 73; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.44; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.7%; rating input score 18; 18th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 2.3% per year; rating input score 100; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 69.1% of revenue deployed · 78.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 18 of 20 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $17.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $614K · 30 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $5.3M reported
- Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
- Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 10 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 26/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 18/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 34/100.