Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Oct 1937.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
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Who runs it and what they're paid
34 people listed on the 990; $2.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Steve Armstrong’s $536K as Head of School is at the 91st percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $10–100M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.
Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Armstrong | $535,918 | $399,582 | $388,400 | $350,021 | $312,240 | $371,477 |
| John Lesaffre | $250,943 | $242,256 | $232,429 | $131,711 | — | — |
| Laura Rutherford | — | — | — | — | $235,199 | $227,728 |
| Abigail Buccella | $226,033 | $211,476 | $192,428 | $167,035 | $165,046 | $157,777 |
| Michael Grossman | $211,312 | $203,011 | $194,458 | $188,145 | $184,322 | $169,844 |
| Lucinda Metsch | — | — | — | $152,243 | $196,468 | — |
| Sean Guthrie | $174,231 | $162,297 | $154,622 | — | — | — |
| Caleb Thomson | — | $170,102 | $162,203 | $153,002 | $152,070 | $145,287 |
Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.
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Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Programs and updates
Develops boys' character, mind, and body in an inclusive, joyful community.
Questions for The Fessenden School
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The fessenden school is an independent boys elementary school for both resident and day students with grades pre-kindergarten through ninth. The program has approx. 540 students of both domestic and international origin. Academic, art and athletic programs all play an integral part of each student's educational and personal growth.
The fessenden school summer day camp program provides approximately 325 children with a diversified, safe and rewarding educational experience. The program operates from july through august and is located on the school's 42 acre campus, and utilizes the spacious grounds, 2 swimming pools, classroom buildings, tennis courts and athletic…
The fessenden daycare services the local community at large, providing infant, toddler, and preschool programs to approximately 50 girls and boys.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $13.2M | $10.5M |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $71.5M | $83.0M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $44.3M | $43.3M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $153.3M | $163.2M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $53.3M | $54.3M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $100.1M | $108.9M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $4.1M | $4.1M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.4M | $203K | $816K | $336K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $17.5M | $14.5M | $2.1M | $911K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $1.8M | $1.4M | $266K | $87K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $3.1M | $2.4M | $504K | $170K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $1.8M | $1.4M | $311K | $107K |
| Management feesLn 11a | $23K | $8K | $15K | |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $86K | $86K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $148K | $148K | ||
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $580K | $580K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.9M | $1.7M | $220K | $62K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $152K | $33K | $7K | $111K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $275K | $112K | $100K | $63K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $313K | $169K | $117K | $27K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $779K | $755K | $15K | $9K |
| TravelLn 17 | $126K | $30K | $66K | $30K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $134K | $130K | $3K | $1K |
| InterestLn 20 | $681K | $663K | $11K | $7K |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $3.2M | $3.1M | $50K | $32K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $398K | $398K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $3.8M | $3.3M | $244K | $273K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $430K | $174K | $256K | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $42.7M | $34.1M | $6.3M | $2.2M |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $45.2M | $42.7M | $2.5M | $108.9M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $41.8M | $40.7M | $1.1M | $100.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $40.7M | $38.7M | $2.1M | $92.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $40.8M | $35.1M | $5.7M | $86.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $33.2M | $32.8M | $408K | $92.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $31.3M | $32.5M | −$1.2M | $73.9M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $45,159,994 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 25 of 25 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $45,159,994 across 10 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $42,661,208 across 22 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $163,240,755 assets, 18 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $108,909,217 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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