Woodward Academy

Legal name: Woodward Academy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
580625584
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
College Park, GA, US
Phone
404.765.4000
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Standard
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$142,506,393
Expenses
$104,919,323
Assets
$315,635,252
Liabilities
$84,382,308

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

Leadership & pay

42 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Dr F Stuart Gulley (President - retired 06/30/25)
  • Dr Christopher Freer (Vice President)
  • Nigel Traylor (Vice President)
  • Nija Meyer (Vice President)
  • Lee Conner (Vice President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr F Stuart Gulley (President - retired 06/30/25): $843,437 total reported compensation
  • Dr Christopher Freer (Vice President): $390,231 total reported compensation
  • Nigel Traylor (Vice President): $334,557 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Woodward Academy's mission is to inspire students to become confident, compassionate, and contributing citizens who embrace learning, integrity, and respect for others.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provided college preparatory education for approximately 2,705 students in pre-K through grade 12 at one of the largest independent schools in the continental United States. Woodward creates opportunities for each child to thrive and is the most diverse independent school in Atlanta. Students learn organically from exposure to perspectives different from their own and they are immersed in intentional programs to teach tolerance, respect, and compassion.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 89% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 87% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 the filing reports few safeguards for money sent abroad.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 72
  • Accountability: 96
  • Sustainability: 76
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 83.6%; rating input score 84
  • Program expense ratio: 87.2%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $1.64 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 4; 4th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: 2 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 25
    • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
    • Requires narrative reports: Fail
    • Conducts field audits: Fail
    • May suspend future funding: Fail
    • Requires financial reports: Pass
    • Conducts site visits: Fail
    • Requires grant agreements: Fail
    • May require repayment: Fail
  • Grant itemization coverage: 55%; rating input score 55; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 93.5%; rating input score 94; 44th 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: 26.4%; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.01; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.27; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 3.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.5% per year; rating input score 100; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 1.6% per year; rating input score 100; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 7 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 3 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 83.6% of revenue deployed · 87.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 29 of 31 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $91.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $843K · 42 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $978K reported
  • Consistency: 39 of 40 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 13 filed schedules · includes major donors, foreign activity, grants, executive pay, and related organizations
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 11 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Foreign activity oversight: 6 of 8 not reported.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Grant itemization coverage scored 55/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.