Lake Forest Academy strives to embody in its practices - and to cultivate in its students -excellence of character, scholarship, citizenship, and responsibility.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
73¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$1.5M paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $2.4M a year · 6% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
73%
of spending
Fine: 73% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.5M
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
8 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $39.4M in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Looks good: 8.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $22K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$39.2M
34% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 34% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
27
of 29 voting members
Looks good: 27 of 29 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$32.9M
+2% vs prior year
Spent
$33.0M
To programs
73%
Net assets
$76.8M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$32.9M
FY2021▲ +2%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$32.4M
FY2021$32.9M
FY2022$34.8M
FY2023$36.4M
FY2024$38.1M
FY2025$48.6M
Expenses
$33.0M
FY2021▲ +5%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$31.5M
FY2021$33.0M
FY2022$34.1M
FY2023$34.7M
FY2024$36.3M
FY2025$39.2M
Net assets
$76.8M
FY2021▲ +21%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$63.4M
FY2021$76.8M
FY2022$75.3M
FY2023$80.5M
FY2024$86.5M
FY2025$93.1M

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in May 1957.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

73 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 73% · $24.1M Management & general 22% · $7.3M Fundraising 5% · $1.7M

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

37 people listed on the 990; $1.5M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Head of School
$499,041Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer
$209,031Pt VII · Sec A
VP for Advancement
$200,481Pt VII · Sec A
Assistant Head of School
$139,752Pt VII · Sec A
Athletic Director
$131,688Pt VII · Sec A
Planned & Major Gifts Offi
$128,631Pt VII · Sec A
Exec Asst to the Hos
$117,831Pt VII · Sec A
Dir of Alumni Relations
$116,130Pt VII · Sec A

Christopher O Tennyson’s $355K as Head of School is at the 74th 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
John Strudwick———$549,219—$479,370
Jose M De Jesus——$203,415$547,109$499,041$228,420
Christopher O Tennyson$354,780$400,138$314,235$168,615$139,752$131,078
Michael J Reidy$248,078$239,418$231,312$221,450$209,031$200,397
Jotham Thomas Johnson$223,410$136,522$127,132$123,820——
Robert J Buckla——$218,131$207,294$200,481$196,772
Darrin Madeley$203,991$194,256$181,453$156,903$131,688$137,469
Garry Sloan$203,250$202,125$150,925$143,425$128,631$126,185

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

Prepares students for college through an independent preparatory school program.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $24.1M · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Lake forest academy 'lfa" was established in 1857 as the boys' preparatory department of lind university. The girls' preparatory department, ferry hall, was added 1869. In 1925, lfa and ferry hall legally separated from the university to become secondary educational institutions.

$24.1Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$22K
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 6 grants · $188K · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$49,155
Unitemized GrantFY2023$30,918
Unitemized GrantFY2022$46,419
Unitemized GrantFY2021$40,924
Unitemized GrantFY2020$8,508
Unitemized GrantFY2019$12,217

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$32.9M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$23.6M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$7.2M
Investment incomeLn 3$1.6M
Money outPt IX
$33.0M
Ln 25
Programscol B$24.1M
Managementcol C$7.3M
Fundraisingcol D$1.7M
Owns and owesPt X
$76.8M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$22.4M
Total assetsLn 16$116.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$39.2M
PeoplePt VI, VII
37
listed · VII A
PaidVII A8
Voting boardVI 1a29
IndependentVI 1b27
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$7.2M
Government grantsLn 1e$2.3M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$337K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$9K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$23.6M
Investment incomeLn 3$1.6M
Other incomeLn 4–11$476K
Gains on assetsLn 7$833K
Total revenueLn 12$32.9M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$3.9M
SavingsLn 2$18.4M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$22.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$39.4M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$45.3M
Other assetsLn 15$595K
Total assetsLn 16$116.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$39.2M
Net assetsLn 32$76.8M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5295
VolunteersI 6190
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$6.1M$22.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$39.4M$39.4M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$46.6M$45.3M
Total assetsLn 16$104.3M$116.1M
LiabilitiesLn 26$40.9M$39.2M
Net assetsLn 32$63.4M$76.8M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$6.3M$6.3M
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$1.1M$839K$249K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$8.8M$6.4M$1.6M$833K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$856K$616K$171K$69K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.5M$1.0M$330K$173K
Payroll taxesLn 10$650K$466K$128K$56K
Legal feesLn 11b$97K$97K
Accounting feesLn 11c$71K$71K
Investment management feesLn 11f$128K$128K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$38K$38K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$57K$57K
Office expensesLn 13$964K$616K$232K$115K
OccupancyLn 16$677K$611K$57K$9K
InterestLn 20$555K$405K$145K$5K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$3.0M$2.7M$254K$39K
InsuranceLn 23$269K$243K$23K$3K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$7.2M$4.1M$3.0M$114K
All other expensesLn 24e$745K$620K$114K$12K
Total functional expensesLn 25$33.0M$24.1M$7.3M$1.7M

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $48.6M$39.2M$9.4M$93.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $38.1M$36.3M$1.7M$86.5M 990 PDF
FY2023 $36.4M$34.7M$1.7M$80.5M 990 PDF
FY2022 $34.8M$34.1M$685K$75.3M 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $32.9M$33.0M−$81K$76.8M 990 PDF
FY2020 $32.4M$31.5M$881K$63.4M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $32,908,168 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $5,107,413$7,217,647
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $25,055,850$23,607,249
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $1,211,724$1,607,696
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $978,518$475,576
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $32,353,505$32,908,168
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $5,545,612$6,262,098
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $13,118,128$12,934,833
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $18,400$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $12,790,170$13,792,501
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $31,472,310$32,989,432
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $881,195−$81,264
Part VI · Governance 27 of 29 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body29
VI-1b Independent voting members27
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $32,908,168 across 12 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $5,759 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$8,532
VIII-1e Government grants$2,275,587
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$4,933,528
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$336,701
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$7,217,647
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $23,607,249$23,607,249
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $774,870$774,870
VIII-6 Net rental income or lossExcluded from tax $32,842$32,842
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $832,826$832,826
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$15,986−$15,986
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $22,580 · Unrelated business $430,381$452,961
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $23,635,588 · Unrelated business $430,381 · Excluded from tax $1,624,552$32,908,168
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $32,989,432 across 18 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $6,262,098$6,262,098
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffManagement $839,149 · Fundraising $249,491$1,088,640
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $6,432,017 · Management $1,568,352 · Fundraising $832,594$8,832,963
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $616,237 · Management $170,760 · Fundraising $69,272$856,269
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,003,556 · Management $330,387 · Fundraising $172,600$1,506,543
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $466,290 · Management $127,967 · Fundraising $56,161$650,418
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $96,802$96,802
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $70,800$70,800
IX-11f Investment management feesManagement $128,340$128,340
IX-11g Other fees for servicesManagement $38,161$38,161
IX-12 Advertising and promotionManagement $57,423$57,423
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $616,063 · Management $232,245 · Fundraising $115,251$963,559
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $611,269 · Management $56,862 · Fundraising $8,800$676,931
IX-20 InterestPrograms $404,965 · Management $144,505 · Fundraising $5,045$554,515
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $2,726,605 · Management $253,638 · Fundraising $39,253$3,019,496
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $242,955 · Management $22,600 · Fundraising $3,498$269,053
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $4,052,155 · Management $3,005,727 · Fundraising $114,398$7,172,280
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $619,652 · Management $113,710 · Fundraising $11,779$745,141
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $24,053,862 · Management $7,257,428 · Fundraising $1,678,142$32,989,432
Part X · Balance sheet $116,077,407 assets, 20 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $2,203,737$3,919,428
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $3,910,697$18,440,735
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $5,812,235$3,501,236
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $5,088,346$4,458,262
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $73,081$58,560
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $640,006$411,735
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $46,595,224$45,250,463
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $18,760,502$18,760,502
X-12 Other securitiesStart of year $20,681,239$20,681,239
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $517,555$595,247
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $104,282,622$116,077,407
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $1,834,942$1,769,247
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $17,082,783$18,129,250
X-20 Tax-exempt bond liabilitiesStart of year $16,250,440$16,262,972
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $1,929,008$1,106,133
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $40,910,105$39,236,275
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $40,345,351$50,013,110
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $23,027,166$26,828,022
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $63,372,517$76,841,132
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $104,282,622$116,077,407
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $76,841,132 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$32,908,168
XI-2 Total expenses$32,989,432
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$81,264
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$63,372,517
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$13,549,879
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$76,841,132

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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