Vertus Charter School

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
464366962
IRS 990 coverage
2014–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Rochester, NY, USA
Phone
5857478911
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Charter Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,531,151
Expenses
$7,747,957
Assets
$5,376,292
Liabilities
$923,150

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

Leadership & pay

14 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • JULIE LOCEY (CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER): $189,512 total reported compensation
  • TIMOTHY HILL (DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS): $146,557 total reported compensation
  • LEVI BENNETT (PRINCIPAL): $119,345 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Vertus' mission is to prepare leaders of character for the community and the workplace.

What it reported doing in 2024

Vertus prepares leaders of character for the community and the workplace, through:-career preparation: every student earns the credentials to get a good job in addition to a high school diploma. After graduation, each student chooses the path that is right for him: college, technical school, or starting a career. Vertus continues to expand it's college and career readiness program each year; investing in three counselors and multiple programs to help ensure post-secondary success.-personalized curriculum: each student has an individual learning plan tailored to his abilities and interests and learns at the pace that is right for him. Seminar rooms and learning labs replace traditional classrooms. Community service, robotics, recording studio, entrepreneurs club, photography, student government and sports keep active boys engaged and build real-world skills.-strong relationships: each student belongs to a small learning team of 12-18 students, led by a full-time preceptor, who keeps each young man on the right path and is responsible for the success of every student on the team. Consistent contact with student's parents/guardians including three family conference nights each year help ensure parents remain engaged in their son's education.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 85% 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

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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 72
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 48
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 74.4%; rating input score 74
  • Program expense ratio: 83.1%; rating input score 83
  • Fundraising efficiency: $7.82 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: 9.2%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.69; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.17; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.9%; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.4% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 10.2% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 74.4% of revenue deployed · 83.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $190K · 14 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $760K reported
  • Consistency: 32 of 32 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2014 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.
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 26/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 47/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 48/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Federal audit findings: this organization reported findings in its latest federal Single Audit.