Tri-county Christian School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
363154173
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Freeport, IL, USA
Phone
8152331876
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Affiliation
Christianity

Reported finances

Revenue
$684,128
Expenses
$771,208
Assets
$1,780,584
Liabilities
$392,975

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

Leadership & pay

13 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PRISCILLA IAN (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • WENDY SCHARDT (ADMINISTRATO): $54,571 total reported compensation
  • ROB MELVILLE (TREASURER-TH): $600 total reported compensation
  • BEN MARTEN (VICE PRESIDE): $345 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To promote and provide christian education.

What it reported doing in 2024

Tri-county christian school is an independent, inter-denominational christian school which provides preschool for 3 and 4 year olds, morning or all day kindergarten, education programs for 1st through 8th grades, and morning and after school latchkey child care to accommodate work schedules. The school offers a safe and nurturing learning environment.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 67% 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.
  • 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 73
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 36
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.9%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 74%; rating input score 74
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.63 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 87.5%; rating input score 88; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12.7%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.31; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.2%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.8% per year; rating input score 100; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 18th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 83.9% of revenue deployed · 74% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $571K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $55K · 13 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 30/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.