Arkansas Early Learning
Legal name: Arkansas Early Learning Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 274207843
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2013–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2012
- Location
- Bentonville, AR, US
- Phone
- (800) 499-9391
- Rating
- 82
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Human Service Organizations
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $26,938,893
- Expenses
- $25,786,604
- Assets
- $28,426,691
- Liabilities
- $15,169,089
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- NELSON WALTER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Highest reported compensation
- NELSON WALTER (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $209,802 total reported compensation
- ANGELA GEORGE (REGIONAL PROGRAM DIRECTOR): $141,782 total reported compensation
- KIM QUALLS (GRANTS DIRECTOR): $138,970 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
To build a stronger community by empowering children and families with skills essential to their success...we believe everyone deserves the opportunity for a better life. It's our mission to provide transformational learning programs to help children and families develop the skills essential to their social competency.
What it reported doing in 2024
Early childcare education: head start program - head start supports the mental, social, and emotional development of children from age 3 to 5. In addition to education services the organization provides children and their families with health, nutrition, social and other services. Services are responsive to each family's ethnic, cultural, and linguistic heritage.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 96% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 82
- Transparency & Controls: 74
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 47
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 90.9%; rating input score 91
- Program expense ratio: 95%; rating input score 95
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Pass
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: Pass
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Pass
- Independent financial-statement audit: Pass
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 4.3%; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.1; rating input score 39; 39th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.53; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 2.9%; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 11.8% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 9.3% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.6% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
- Where the money goes: 90.9% of revenue deployed · 95% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 12 of 12 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $24.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $210K · 15 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 11 filing years from 2013 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
- Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
- People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 51/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 39/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 26/100.