Waring School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
237123080
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Beverly, MA, USA
Phone
9789278793
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$7,593,188
Expenses
$8,276,086
Assets
$17,009,692
Liabilities
$2,164,257

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

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • TIMOTHY BAKLAND (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $271,031 total reported compensation
  • WILLIAM POTTER (DIRECTOR OF FINANCE & OPER): $167,847 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 create and sustain a community of lifelong learners who are working together for the individual and common good.

What it reported doing in 2024

Waring School's education model cultivates the analytical mind and the expressive voice, at the individual and community level. A school driven by diverse ideas and a love of learning, Waring blends a progressive educational pedagogy with a rigorous liberal arts curriculum for grades 6 through 12. Students and the teachers are asked to take risks and stretch themselves. Waring's pedagogy challenges the traditional notion of a classroom through mixed-age experiences, experiential learning, travel and community service. Waring's educational process includes project based experiences such as camping trip and endterm, and has a comprehensive advisory/tutorial system of mixed ages. Classes are often discussion-based and built around a single table or circle.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% 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.

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: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 84%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 79.9%; rating input score 80
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd 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; 63rd 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: Fail
    • 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%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.06; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.3%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.6% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 2% per year; rating input score 100; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 84% of revenue deployed · 79.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $271K · 15 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $350K reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 4/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 14/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 51/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 54/100.