Wolcott School
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 364496852
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2011–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, USA
- Phone
- 3126104900
- Rating
- 79
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Secondary, High School
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $9,032,747
- Expenses
- $9,406,262
- Assets
- $18,272,746
- Liabilities
- $2,592,139
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
20 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- JENNIFER LEVINE (PRESIDENT)
- NANCIA SHAWVER (VICE PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- MIRIAM PIKE (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $283,220 total reported compensation
- DAPHNE SAJOUS-BRADY (DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES): $151,483 total reported compensation
- MARYBETH KRAVETS (DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE COUNSELING): $148,440 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Wolcott is an exemplary college preparatory high school for students with learning differences, tailored to the strengths and aspirations of each student. Employing best practices, our expert faculty is committed to helping each student achieve academically, communicate effectively, and grow socially as well as develop the self-awareness, confidence, and resilience to thrive in college and beyond. As valued members of our intentionally diverse and close-knit community, wolcott students cultivate their interests and talents and develop a sense of purpose and responsibility to themselves and others.
What it reported doing in 2024
Wolcott school is an exemplary college preparatory high school for students with learning differences. We serve an economic and culturally diverse population. The school is built around students' strengths withfaculty dedicated to helping students gain self-awareness, confidence, and resilience, as well as the skills to flourish in college.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 80% 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 78% for direct work, and 22% for grants.
- Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.
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 some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 74
- Transparency & Controls: 83
- Accountability: 90
- Sustainability: 38
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 80.5%; rating input score 80
- Program expense ratio: 78.3%; rating input score 78
- Fundraising efficiency: $7.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 29; 29th 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: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Fail
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- 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: -4.1%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.94; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.14; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 10.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11.7% per year; rating input score 100; 70th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.1% per year; rating input score 100; 65th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 80.5% of revenue deployed · 78.3% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 14 of 14 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $7.4M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $283K · 20 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $545K reported
- Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
- Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 14 filing years from 2011 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 6 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 29/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 8 not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 22/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 52/100.