Friends' School is a supportive, dynamic community committed to educating the whole child head, hand, and heart and to training exceptional teachers for tomorrow's classrooms. We provide a strong academic foundation while developing creative expression and nurturing a passion for learning. Our students gain a deep understanding of themselves and are inspired to act with compassion and integrity.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
80¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$283K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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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
1 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $331K a year · 7% of revenue · last 6 filings
Concern: a surplus in 1 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
80%
of spending
Looks good: 80% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$283K
to officers and key staff · 6% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 6% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.3 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
4
named funders · $61K
Looks good: 4 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$4.1M
47% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 47% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
11
of 12 voting members
Looks good: 11 of 12 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$4.3M
+14% vs prior year
Spent
$4.6M
To programs
80%
Net assets
$4.6M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$4.3M
FY2021▲ +14%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$3.8M
FY2021$4.3M
FY2022$5.8M
FY2023$4.7M
FY2024$4.8M
FY2025$4.4M
Expenses
$4.6M
FY2021▲ +14%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$4.0M
FY2021$4.6M
FY2022$5.5M
FY2023$5.1M
FY2024$5.4M
FY2025$5.2M
Net assets
$4.6M
FY2021▲ +0.7%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$4.6M
FY2021$4.6M
FY2022$4.7M
FY2023$4.5M
FY2024$4.1M
FY2025$3.6M

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 Jan 1991.

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

Where the money goes

80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 80% · $3.7M Management & general 18% · $833K Fundraising 2% · $71K

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

17 people listed on the 990; $283K 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
$180,000Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance
$102,947Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Trustee
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Honor Taft’s $249K as Head of Scho is at the 91st percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $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 · 6 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Honor Taft$249,039$236,488$231,934$205,784$180,000$175,000
Heidi Halpern$135,306$130,328$115,660$9,538——
Ivan Fink Johnson$106,428—————
Liz Eckstein————$102,947—
Jessie Vanden Hogen—————$73,891
Shelby Pawlina—————$66,771

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

Educates children and trains teachers with a focus on academics, creativity, and compassionate action.

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Provided by the organization

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2 programs · $3.7M · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Educational

Friends school offers an independent, nonsectarian progressive program for children in preschool through grade eight. We are leaders in social and emotional learning with a focus on mindfulness practices at all levels.

$3.4Mprogram expense
02

Teacher Candidates

Friends school offers a unique teacher preparation program to aspiring teachers by providing them with practical classroom teaching experience and coursework that will enable them to attain a colorado initial teacher license, as well as a master's degree in education in partnership with the university of colorado denver.

$228Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 4 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$4.3M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$3.4M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$714K
Investment incomeLn 3$170K
Money outPt IX
$4.6M
Ln 25
Programscol B$3.7M
Managementcol C$833K
Fundraisingcol D$71K
Owns and owesPt X
$4.6M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.4M
Total assetsLn 16$8.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$4.1M
PeoplePt VI, VII
17
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a12
IndependentVI 1b11
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$714K
Government grantsLn 1e$374K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$50K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$3.4M
Investment incomeLn 3$170K
Other incomeLn 4–11$4K
Gains on assetsLn 7$158K
Total revenueLn 12$4.3M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$180K
SavingsLn 2$2.2M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$2.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$2.3M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3.9M
Total assetsLn 16$8.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$4.1M
Net assetsLn 32$4.6M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 50
VolunteersI 670
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$1.4M$2.4M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$2.0M$2.3M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$4.0M$3.9M
Total assetsLn 16$7.4M$8.7M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.9M$4.1M
Net assetsLn 32$4.6M$4.6M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$650K$650K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$135K$135K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$2.2M$1.8M$404K$61K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$84K$55K$26K$3K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$184K$152K$29K$3K
Payroll taxesLn 10$199K$154K$40K$4K
Legal feesLn 11b$10K$10K
Accounting feesLn 11c$11K$11K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$83K$80K$3K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$37K$37K
Office expensesLn 13$65K$55K$10K
Information technologyLn 14$37K$37K
OccupancyLn 16$364K$310K$54K
TravelLn 17$22K$22K
InterestLn 20$85K$85K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$166K$141K$25K
InsuranceLn 23$91K$91K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$117K$117K
Total functional expensesLn 25$4.6M$3.7M$833K$71K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $4.4M$5.2M−$771K$3.6M 990 PDF
FY2024 $4.8M$5.4M−$587K$4.1M 990 PDF
FY2023 $4.7M$5.1M−$332K$4.5M 990 PDF
FY2022 $5.8M$5.5M$209K$4.7M 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $4.3M$4.6M−$261K$4.6M 990 PDF
FY2020 $3.8M$4.0M−$246K$4.6M 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 J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $4,303,947 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $360,055$713,823
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $3,377,675$3,415,858
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $29,586$170,164
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $6,919$4,102
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $3,774,235$4,303,947
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $408,149$650,321
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $2,695,897$2,826,696
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $916,182$1,088,199
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $4,020,228$4,565,216
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$245,993−$261,269
Part VI · Governance 11 of 12 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body12
VI-1b Independent voting members11
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 $4,303,947 across 10 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$49,586
VIII-1e Government grants$374,400
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$289,837
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$713,823
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $3,415,858$3,415,858
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $12,041$12,041
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax $158,123$158,123
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$3,713−$3,713
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $7,815$7,815
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $3,423,673 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $166,451$4,303,947
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $4,565,216 across 18 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $650,321$650,321
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffManagement $135,432$135,432
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $1,759,881 · Management $404,146 · Fundraising $60,768$2,224,795
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $55,308 · Management $25,528 · Fundraising $2,836$83,672
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $152,390 · Management $28,637 · Fundraising $2,898$183,925
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $154,112 · Management $40,284 · Fundraising $4,476$198,872
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $10,060$10,060
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $11,250$11,250
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $80,429 · Management $3,020$83,449
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $36,862$36,862
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $54,687 · Management $10,291$64,978
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $36,935$36,935
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $309,531 · Management $54,450$363,981
IX-17 TravelPrograms $22,015$22,015
IX-20 InterestManagement $84,963$84,963
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $140,763 · Management $24,841$165,604
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $91,311$91,311
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $116,791$116,791
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $3,661,336 · Management $832,902 · Fundraising $70,978$4,565,216
Part X · Balance sheet $8,733,659 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $490,601$179,610
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $936,551$2,226,410
X-4 Accounts receivable$46,514
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $12,981$34,047
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $3,991,895$3,944,676
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $2,013,486$2,302,402
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $7,445,514$8,733,659
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $188,337$179,941
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $520,730$1,673,163
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $2,867,031$4,124,923
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $2,384,601$2,156,736
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $2,193,882$2,452,000
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $4,578,483$4,608,736
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $7,445,514$8,733,659
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $4,608,736 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$4,303,947
XI-2 Total expenses$4,565,216
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$261,269
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$4,578,483
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$299,463
XI-7 Investment expenses−$7,941
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$4,608,736

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

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