The Wilberforce School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
201961626
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Princeton, NJ, USA
Phone
6099246111
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12
Affiliation
Christianity

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,452,335
Expenses
$11,550,161
Assets
$26,847,937
Liabilities
$20,812,772

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • HOWE WHITMAN JR (HEAD OF SCHO): $224,572 total reported compensation
  • JENNIA AXELSON (EMPLOYEE): $108,750 total reported compensation
  • JEE YOON PARK (EMPLOYEE): $105,582 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 wilberforce school was founded to provide a distinctly christian education characterized by academic excellence and joyful discovery within a classical framework.

What it reported doing in 2024

For the 2024-2025 academic year there were 369 students enrolled, of whom 48% received a grant in the form of a merit scholarship, financial aid, or tuition remission.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 87% 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 66% for direct work, and 34% 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. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80.5%; rating input score 81
  • Program expense ratio: 80.2%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.54 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.9%; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.32; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.78; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 4.7%; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.2% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 13.5% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.9% per year; rating input score 100; 95th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80.5% of revenue deployed · 80.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 10 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $9.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $225K · 14 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 22/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 27/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 14/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 53/100.