The Williston Northampton School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
041975990
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Easthampton, MA, USA
Phone
4135293279
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Secondary, High School

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$44,339,981
Expenses
$42,021,779
Assets
$130,008,373
Liabilities
$45,086,455

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

Leadership & pay

39 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ROBERT W HILL III (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $603,167 total reported compensation
  • PETER HOLDEN (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $305,840 total reported compensation
  • ERIC YATES (CHIEF ADVANCEMENT OFFICER): $289,851 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 williston northampton school inspires students to live with purpose, passion and integrity. The school's philosophy comprises the tenents of respect for self and others, responsibility and trust, and honesty and integrity. The school's values are encapsulated by these tenents: academic excellence, individuality, responsibility, community and collaboration.

What it reported doing in 2024

During the tax year, williston northampton school provided an independent, college-preparatory education to 517 boarding and day students in grades 7 through postgraduate. The school's mission is to inspire students to live with purpose, passion, and integrity. This mission is imparted through rigorous educational, athletic, artistic, and social programs designed to foster academic excellence, individuality, responsibility, community, and collaboration. To ensure accessibility, the school awarded approximately $8 million in financial aid during the year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 78% 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 75% for direct work, and 25% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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: 68
  • Transparency & Controls: 88
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 71.9%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 79.7%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.32 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 99.9%; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 96.7%; rating input score 97; 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: 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: 5.2%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.09; rating input score 76; 76th 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: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 71.9% of revenue deployed · 79.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 30 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $33.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $603K · 39 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.7M reported
  • Consistency: 40 of 40 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 11 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 4 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 41/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 50/100.