Bright School INC EIN 62-0476284

Bright School INC

EIN  62-0476284 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Chattanooga, TN Founded 1938
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/15/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Educates children to become wise and compassionate global citizens.
Leadership
Kristin Watts · Head of School · $211K
Money in and out
$8.4M revenue, $7.7M expenses
Bottom line
85% program efficiency

Educates children to become wise and compassionate global citizens. For fiscal year 2025 it reported $8.4M in revenue, $7.7M in expenses, and $22.8M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2025
Total revenue
$8.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$7.7M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$22.8M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $679K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.12 Fundraising $0.04
Program efficiency
85%
of spending reaches programs▲ +4% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
25.0mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▲ +2% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
+8%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -67% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2025 · Form 990
Revenue
$8.4M
FY2025▼ -10%
Expenses
$7.7M
FY2025▲ +9%
Total assets
$24.5M
FY2025▲ +7%
Total liabilities
$1.8M
FY2025▲ +12%
Total revenue
$8.4M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$7.7M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$22.8M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$679K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$24.5M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B85%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 322
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 422
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $6.6M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Provide excellent educational instruction for elementary age boys and girls

$4.3Mprogram expense
02

Maintenance-facilities

$1.5Mprogram expense
03

Summer school and after school programming

$736Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CBright School INC
EINHdr · item D62-0476284
Principal addressHdr · item CChattanooga, TN
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.brightschool.com
Year of formationHdr · item L1938
State of legal domicileHdr · item MTN
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEducation (B21Z)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMar 1951

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a22
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b22
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
$210,617Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance
$115,806Pt VII · Sec A
Assistant Head of School
$106,032Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Kristin Watts’s $211K as Head of School is at the 85th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3393 $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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2021
Kristin Watts$210,617$210,390$203,000
Oj Morgan$173,540
Jennifer L Dillon$115,806
Cecilia R Kropff$106,032

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$7.0M · 83%
Contributions & grants$954K · 11%
Investment income$364K · 4%
Other revenue$144K · 2%
Program service revenue83%$7.0M
Contributions & grants11%$954K
Investment income4%$364K
Other revenue2%$144K
— government grantsLn 1e$354K
Total revenueLn 12$8.4M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.85 Management & general $0.12 Fundraising $0.04
Program services85%$6.6M
Management & general12%$898K
Fundraising4%$299K
Total functional expensesLn 25$7.7M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$5.8M
Total assetsLn 16$24.5M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$1.8M
Total net assetsLn 32$22.8M
Months of cash on handcomputed9.0

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2025 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $16.1M · Operating expenses/yr $7.7M
25.0 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $6.6M · Total expenses $7.7M
85%
Management & General
Management & general $898K · Total expenses $7.7M
12%
Fundraising
Fundraising $299K · Total expenses $7.7M
4%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $305K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $932K
$0.33 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $954K · Total revenue $8.4M
11%
Government reliance
Government grants $354K · Total revenue $8.4M
4%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $7.0M · Total revenue $8.4M
83%
Investment reliance
Investment income $364K · Total revenue $8.4M
+4%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $7.0M · Total expenses $7.7M
90%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $8.4M · Prior year $9.4M
-10%
Revenue CAGR
FY2020 $8.3M · FY2024 $8.4M
0%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $22.8M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $8.4M · Expenses $7.7M
+8%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $24.5M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $22.8M · Total assets $24.5M
93%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $7.3M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $3.1M · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $24.5M
42%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Kristin Watts · Reported title HEAD OF SCHOOL · Highest reported compensation $211K · Total expenses $7.7M
3%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $4.6M · Total expenses $7.7M
60%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 85%
Overhead ratio 12%
Fundraising cost ratio 31%
Revenue growth -10%
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 · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$1K
Grants paid · 8 grants · $1.6M · 2020–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$314,064
Unitemized GrantFY2024$62,950
Unitemized GrantFY2023$364,012
Unitemized GrantFY2023$49,653
Unitemized GrantFY2022$360,088
Unitemized GrantFY2022$40,794
Unitemized GrantFY2020$352,375
Unitemized GrantFY2020$17,019

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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)$8.4M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$9.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$7.7M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022not on file
FY2021$8.3M 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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