The School of Architecture

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
821898299
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Phone
4807504470
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Vocational, Technical Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$880,937
Expenses
$948,879
Assets
$424,465
Liabilities
$660,874

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Christopher Lasch (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Christopher Lasch (President): $25,426 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Building on frank lloyd wright's designs and thoughts, the school is a graduate program in architecture that teaches and practices learning by doing, new ways of looking, an ability to honor and build with the landscape, and experimentation. Students learn how to serve our diverse communities by making our environment more sustainable, open to all, and beautiful.

What it reported doing in 2024

The school of architecture offers accredited masters level graduate programs in architecture designed for students who thrive in an immersive and multifaceted environment focusing on rigorous design, critical thinking, and hands-on learning. Students participate in real world design-build projects that serve nonprofit organizations and underserved communities. The small-scale of the school facilitates an individualized educational experience and fosters a close relationship between students, faculty, and staff. The school provided $101,992 in scholarships and discounts.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 84% 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. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 42
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.2%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 67%; rating input score 67
  • Fundraising efficiency: $76.7 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.3%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 5th 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: -7.7%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.45; rating input score 21; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.56; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.7%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -9.8% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -17.3% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -28.4% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.2% of revenue deployed · 67% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 0 of 16 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $636K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $25K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 32 of 33 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2017 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 20/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 21/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 3/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 57/100.