Fairmount Montessori Association EIN 34-1217313

Fairmount Montessori Association

EIN  34-1217313 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Cleveland Hts, OH Founded 1959
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/18/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Educates young people using Montessori methods to foster independence, social responsibility, and global citizenship.
Leadership
Kathie Freer · Head of School · $161K
Money in and out
$6.8M revenue, $6.5M expenses
Bottom line
85% program efficiency

Educates young people using Montessori methods to foster independence, social responsibility, and global citizenship. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $6.8M in revenue, $6.5M in expenses, and $10.0M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$6.8M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$6.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$10.0M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $271K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.05
Program efficiency
85%
of spending reaches programs▲ +1% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
8.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -4% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+4%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -75% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$6.8M
FY2025▼ -12%
Expenses
$6.5M
FY2025▲ +1%
Total assets
$11.1M
FY2025▲ +11%
Total liabilities
$1.1M
FY2025▼ -34%
Total revenue
$6.8M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$6.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$10.0M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$271K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$11.1M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B85%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 315
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 415
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $5.6M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

State accredited educational program based on montessori philosophy and serving approximately 341 children ages 18 months through grade 8.

$5.2Mprogram expense
02

Before and after school childcare and enrichment programs (after school classes, winter break camp, spring break camp) serving approximately 110 children ages 3 years through grade 8.

$197Kprogram expense
03

Summer ruffing it is a six week enriched day camp program serving approximately 226 children ages 18 months through grade 8.

$147Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CFairmount Montessori Association
EINHdr · item D34-1217313
Principal addressHdr · item CCleveland Hts, OH
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.ruffingmontessori.net
Year of formationHdr · item L1959
State of legal domicileHdr · item MOH
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEducation (B21Z)
Ruling yearIRS BMFFeb 1978

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a15
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b15
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Head of School
$160,911Pt VII · Sec A
Dir. of Finance & Operatio
$136,952Pt VII · Sec A
Co-President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Leadership Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Kathie Freer’s $161K as Head of School is at the 70th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3392 $1–10M 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Kathie Freer$160,911$154,723$147,879$126,240$123,060$124,750
Debra J Mitchell$136,952$126,880$122,000$106,694$104,731$105,873
Teri Howe$114,288$127,674

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Program service revenue$6.1M · 90%
Contributions & grants$753K · 11%
Program service revenue90%$6.1M
Contributions & grants11%$753K
— government grantsLn 1e$290K
Total revenueLn 12$6.8M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.10 Fundraising $0.05
Program services85%$5.6M
Management & general10%$668K
Fundraising5%$307K
Total functional expensesLn 25$6.5M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$3.5M
Total assetsLn 16$11.1M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$1.1M
Total net assetsLn 32$10.0M
Months of cash on handcomputed6.4

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $4.4M · Operating expenses (Pt IX) $6.5M · Less non-cash grants $185K · Cash operating expenses/yr $6.4M
8.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $5.6M · Total expenses $6.5M
85%
Management & General
Management & general $668K · Total expenses $6.5M
10%
Fundraising
Fundraising $307K · Total expenses $6.5M
5%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $337K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $701K
$0.48 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $753K · Total revenue $6.8M
11%
Government reliance
Government grants $290K · Total revenue $6.8M
4%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $6.1M · Total revenue $6.8M
90%
Investment reliance
Investment income $-86K · Total revenue $6.8M
-1%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $6.1M · Total expenses $6.5M
94%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $6.8M · Prior year $7.7M
-12%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $5.2M · FY2024 $6.8M
+6%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $10.0M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $6.8M · Expenses $6.5M
+4%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $11.1M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $10.0M · Total assets $11.1M
90%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $876K · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $11.1M
8%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Kathie Freer · Reported title HEAD OF SCHOOL · Highest reported compensation $161K · Total expenses $6.5M
2%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $4.1M · Total expenses $6.5M
62%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 85%
Overhead ratio 10%
Fundraising cost ratio 41%
Revenue growth -12%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 7 funders →
Grants paid · 6 grants · $3.1M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$509,918
Unitemized GrantFY2023$582,575
Unitemized GrantFY2022$451,450
Unitemized GrantFY2021$433,667
Unitemized GrantFY2020$558,981
Unitemized GrantFY2019$523,109

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$6.8M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$7.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$6.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$6.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$4.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$5.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2025IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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