Vanguard Academy

Legal name: Vanguard Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
742971562
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Edinburg, TX, United States
Phone
(956) 781-1701
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Single Organization Support

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$99,008,604
Expenses
$92,130,067
Assets
$113,412,804
Liabilities
$58,102,294

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SANDRA S RODRIGUEZ (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • BARBARA GONZALES (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • MARIA MUNOZ (FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF): $133,291 total reported compensation
  • LIZETTA LONGORIA (DIRECTOR): $131,439 total reported compensation
  • DR NARCISO GARCIA (SUPERINTENDENT): $124,292 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

At Vanguard Academy, we are dedicated to cultivating multilingual learners who are fully prepared to excel in college, career, and beyond. Our mission is rooted in a commitment to elevated standards, achieved through unwavering rigor, high expectations, and robust support systems, ensuring our students are well-equipped for success in an ever-evolving world.

What it reported doing in 2024

Vanguard academy is a network of tuition-free public charter schools serving grades pre-kindergarten through 12. Vanguard academy serves an enrollment of 6,814 students in 10 schools throughout the rio grande valley. Vanguard academy offers alternatives not readily available at other schools including but not limited to courses in the fine arts area. Vanguard has received a state accountability rating of b from the Texas education agency for the 24-25 school year.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and liabilities are high compared with assets.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 92
  • Transparency & Controls: 75
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 56
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 89.7%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 96.4%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: $434.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 93; 93rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 6.9%; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.23; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.51; rating input score 35; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.2%; rating input score 70; 70th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 15.4% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14.8% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.7% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 89.7% of revenue deployed · 96.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $88.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $133K · 14 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.8M reported
  • Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 10 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 35/100.