The Seed School of Maryland
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 061818759
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Baltimore, MD, USA
- Phone
- 4108439477
- Rating
- 83
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Secondary, High School
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $23,283,626
- Expenses
- $22,936,907
- Assets
- $47,008,000
- Liabilities
- $16,548,357
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- LESLEY POOLE (TRUSTEE/CEO SEED FND)
Highest reported compensation
- LESLEY POOLE (TRUSTEE/CEO SEED FND): $363,446 total reported compensation
- KIRK SYKES (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $261,235 total reported compensation
- GERARDO LUNA (NETWORK CFO): $222,047 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 seed school of Maryland (seed Maryland) is a statewide, public, college-preparatory boarding school offering an extraordinary learning and living experience in preparation for college and beyond. The Maryland general assembly passed legislation to establish the school which receives state, local and private funds. The Maryland state dept. Of education (msde) oversees the school and holds it accountable to state and federal standards for teaching and learning. By design and state-law, seed Maryland serves students who could most benefit from our 24-hour learning environment.
What it reported doing in 2024
Provide outstanding intensive residential education program that prepares children, both academically and socially, for success in college.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 80% 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: 77
- Transparency & Controls: 87
- Accountability: 93
- Sustainability: 48
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 82.4%; rating input score 82
- Program expense ratio: 83.6%; rating input score 84
- Fundraising efficiency: $8.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 33; 33rd 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: 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: 96%; rating input score 96; 30th 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: Fail
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 1.5%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.05; rating input score 62; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.35; rating input score 41; 41st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 5.1%; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 0.8% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 82.4% of revenue deployed · 83.6% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 24 of 25 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $19.2M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $363K · 32 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.6M reported
- Consistency: 38 of 38 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 7 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 2 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.
- Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 33/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.