Twin Cities Academy

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
411888852
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
St Paul, MN, USA
Phone
6512054797
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,878,071
Expenses
$2,658,598
Assets
$1,549,251
Liabilities
$1,305,935

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • Anna Schnek (Vice Chair): $65,427 total reported compensation
  • Betsy Lueth (Principal/Director): $62,415 total reported compensation
  • Kristen Sieg (Member): $49,268 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Twin Cities Academy is a St. Paul Charter School, serving grades (6-8), committed to developing productive citizens through academic rigor and building character in partnership with families and the community.

What it reported doing in 2014

Twin Cities Academy provides a comprehensive program of instruction to students in grades six, seven and eight. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015, Twin Cities Academy served an estimated 216 students.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 90% 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. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.2%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 89.1%; rating input score 89
  • Fundraising efficiency: $170.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 71.4%; rating input score 71; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • 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: 7.6%; rating input score 65; 65th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.58; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.84; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.7%; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 17.1% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.2% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.2% of revenue deployed · 89.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 7 board members independent · 6 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $2.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $65K · 8 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $627K reported
  • Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2009 to 2014
  • 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: 3 of 9 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 28/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 13/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 35/100.