Young Audiences Charter Schools

Legal name: Young Audiences Charter Association

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
460590653
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Gretna, LA, US
Phone
(504) 304-6332
Rating
70
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$36,804,360
Expenses
$35,784,715
Assets
$12,078,480
Liabilities
$3,118,509

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RICKIE NUTIK (CEO)
  • ERICA SEEMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • CHARLES GASPARD (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • RICKIE NUTIK (CEO): $171,305 total reported compensation
  • BRIONNE STEWART (CHIEF ACAD OFFICER): $139,561 total reported compensation
  • TORIANO HAYWARD JR (PRINCIPAL): $114,231 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Young Audiences Charter Schools (YACS) provides a rigorous, arts-integrated education that prepares students for college and career success.

What it reported doing in 2024

To accomplish its mission, young audiences charter school faculty and staff will deliver a completely arts-integrated curriculum supported by project-based teaching and learning authentic assessments, individualized instruction and regular opportunities for both teacher and student collaboration. Arts integration combines the arts with the learning of core academic subjects. It supports educational achievement and improved student behavior by giving children both a "springboard and a "safety net" for learning. The arts allow students to be more engaged in education-focusing on each child's abilities and interests to provide support in academic achievement. The arts also provide increased opportunities for parental involvement in school, a key component to education.young audiences charter school will provide a rigorous academic program with a strong focus on the Louisiana comprehensive curriculum and common core state standards. These academic requirements will be integrated with the five art disciplines (literary arts, music, dance/movement, drama and visual art) to provide students with additional learning opportunities and multiple ways to understand academic content.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 79% 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. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 65
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 39
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 67.8%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 70.1%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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; 66th 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: 2.8%; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.34; rating input score 9; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 20.1% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.2% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 1 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 67.8% of revenue deployed · 70.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $25.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $171K · 17 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $3.2M reported
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 12 filing years from 2013 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 6 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 2 filed related-organization links
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 9/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 45/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Other executive compensation review process not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.