Zionsville Education Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
300024279
IRS 990 coverage
2011–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Zionsville, IN, USA
Phone
3177334805
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fund Raising and/or Fund Distribution

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$359,696
Expenses
$305,919
Assets
$2,359,591
Liabilities
$15,562

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

Leadership & pay

22 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Erica Carpenter (Vice President)
  • Kim Lewis (President)
  • Mark Pascarella (Past President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Lyle Browne (Executive Dir.): $51,267 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Zionsville Education Foundation (ZEF)is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the educational experiences of Zionsville students by providing grants for innovative and creative programs. The mission of ZEF is to serve its school community by providing funds that promote academic excellence.

What it reported doing in 2024

Spring program funding to Zionsville Community School teachers based on a grant application and approval process. The grants were reviewed and approved by the grant committee which is comprised of board members and community members. Each grant was reviewed to determine how the grant met the foundation's mission to improve academic excellence. Based on funds available, the highest ranked grants promoting academic excellence were funded.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 79% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Grant intermediary. The nonprofit sent 65% of its reported program spending out as grants.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of available resources goes toward mission work. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 63
  • Transparency & Controls: 94
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 66
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.7%; rating input score 67
  • Program expense ratio: 71.6%; rating input score 72
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.94 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 80th 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: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 15%; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 7.71; rating input score 86; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.01; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 16.8%; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 7.6% per year; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.2% per year; rating input score 100; 52nd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.7% of revenue deployed · 71.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 21 of 21 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $219K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $51K · 22 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 26 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 11 filing years from 2011 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 17/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 22/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.