Wisconsin Council of Religious and Independent Sch

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
391347439
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2011
Location
Madison, WI, USA
Phone
6082871224
Rating
82
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$747,847
Expenses
$693,559
Assets
$1,577,797
Liabilities
$7,363

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHARON SCHMELING (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • PHIL PUNZEL (PRESIDENT)
  • ANDREW BAXTER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • KATHRYN SCOTT (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHARON SCHMELING (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $142,086 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Government advocacy association serving over 600 private schools and 100,000 students.

What it reported doing in 2024

Work with local, state and federal government agencies and officials on behalf of member schools, students, and parents to get equitable access to school busing services, federally-funded education programs, school and special needs vouchers, tuition tax deductions, and help member schools comply with state and federal education related laws through the provision of a biennial legal handbook, and other such publications.

Operating model

Revenue model
Membership-supported. 61% of the money available for current operations came from membership dues.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 100
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.7%; rating input score 73
  • Program expense ratio: 77.4%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.3%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.27; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 74; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 20.5%; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 11.6% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 9.8% per year; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 13.4% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.7% of revenue deployed · 77.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 15 of 15 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $537K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $142K · 17 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2012 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 14/100.