Carole Robertson Center for Learning
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 362882124
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2017–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Chicago, IL, US
- Phone
- (773) 542-9200
- Rating
- 81
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Child Day Care
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $40,743,154
- Expenses
- $38,627,077
- Assets
- $27,408,700
- Liabilities
- $5,884,774
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
32 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Bela Mote (Chief Executive Officer)
Highest reported compensation
- Bela Mote (Chief Executive Officer): $326,304 total reported compensation
- Sonja Crum Knight (Chief Program & Impact Off): $197,353 total reported compensation
- Chris Cannova (Chief Administrative Officer): $183,427 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 educate, enrich, and empower children and their families.
What it reported doing in 2024
The early childhood education program serves children ages 3 through 5, preparing children for future success in school. The program uses the Creative Curriculum for preschool to infuse literacy, math, science, social studies, critical thinking, and program solving into lesson plans. Programming is offered on a full-day, year-long model in a variety of settings, including center-based programs, preschool classrooms embedded in local charter schools, and through a network of partners and subrecipients that offer programming in centers or in a licensed family child care setting. Embedded parent and family supports help connect caregivers to resources needed to uplift and strengthen the whole family.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Grant-funded. 90% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 78% for direct work, and 22% for grants.
The verdict
STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 79
- Transparency & Controls: 75
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 46
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 78.3%; rating input score 78
- Program expense ratio: 82.5%; rating input score 82
- Fundraising efficiency: $46.68 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Pass
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- 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: 5.2%; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.71; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.21; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 4.5%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 20.9% per year; rating input score 100; 90th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 20.8% per year; rating input score 100; 93rd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 16.2% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 3 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 4 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 78.3% of revenue deployed · 82.5% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 19 of 19 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $31.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $326K · 32 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 4 contractors listed · $920K reported
- Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
- Filing history: 8 filing years from 2017 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 29 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 20 filed related-organization links
- 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.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 54/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 55/100.
- Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 57/100.