Isabella Sanchez ’16: Episcopal Academy has always been a non-profit organization, but partnerships with organizations like NXT Sports have led to questions about the criteria for on-going non-profit status.
Lawrence Capuzzi, member of Episcopal’s Business Administration, explained the school’s qualification as a non-profit organization, stating, “Our mission is to provide a good education for kids and to manage the school each year. We never budget to make a profit and any surplus funds go directly back into the school.”
Being a not-for-profit entails that any extra income the company makes is not for distribution between owners and investors but instead is used within the organization to fulfill a charitable mission. Being considered a nonprofit organization allows the school certain rights, such as tax exemptions. Capuzzi disclosed, “We do not pay state or federal taxes and we are exempt from property taxes…on our 130+ acres and if we were to pay property tax that alone would be $1.4 million more each year. We also do not pay sales tax and with the amount of money we spend on the things we buy, such as supplies, it would be a really big number if you added it all up. That’s why it is really important that everything we do stays along those guidelines.”
At times the business relationships with outside companies, such as NXT sports, have created questions like where that income goes. Capuzzi clarified that “we outsource through NXT, meaning we outsource rentals [of our fields] with the goal to get people on campus and get them to take a look at our school.” He continues by emphasizing “There are a lot of tests you have to pass and guidelines you have to follow. Venturing outside of them can get you in lot of trouble. So we have to be really careful with outside programs, like NXT, that do make a profit for themselves and in how we are involved with them.” As for the programs within the campus such as the school store, “all the money goes back into it and goes to paying for the inventory and getting the personnel to run the store. Anything extra goes into the school in one way or another.”
The Episcopal financial breakdown as illustrated in the 2012-2013 annual report contained an income of $39 million coming from tuition (82.7%), the annual fund (5%), the endowment (4%) and miscellaneous income (8.3%). Episcopal’s annual expenses of $38.9 million go 60% into salaries and wages, 14% into financial aid, 12.2% into administrative costs, 9.2% into the facilities and 4% into miscellaneous expenses.
No matter how great the budget Capuzzi says, “At the end of the day, we want to provide an education for students at what we consider to be a fair tuition and pay our faculty well, with good benefits so they can also provide for their families.”