Child Educational Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
953403258
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
La Canada, CA, USA
Phone
8183543418
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Child Day Care

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$11,387,876
Expenses
$11,106,989
Assets
$12,444,576
Liabilities
$5,663,508

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

20 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • RAY MORRIS (PRESIDENT)
  • ERINN MCCULLAUGH SHARIF (VICE PRESIDENT, ADVANCEMENT)
  • LAURA STETSON (VICE PRESIDENT, GOVERNANCE)
  • ALLEGRA INGANNI (CO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)
  • ELLEN VESELACK (CO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ELLEN VESELACK (CO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $177,711 total reported compensation
  • ALLEGRA INGANNI (CO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $175,441 total reported compensation
  • SETA MATOSSIAN (CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER): $160,525 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The child educational center's mission is to ignite joy, curiosity and compassion through innovative children's programs for all.

What it reported doing in 2024

Children's programs - the center provides education and care to infant, toddler and preschool aged children of employees of jet propulsion laboratory (jpl), California institute of technology (caltech), and families in the surrounding areas of pasadena, glendale and the foothill communities. The center also provides school-age care to these same institutions, and families in the same surrounding areas.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 76
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 41
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 82.4%; rating input score 82
  • Program expense ratio: 84.7%; rating input score 85
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.85 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings

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: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 2.5%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.12; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.46; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 5.8%; rating input score 44; 44th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.9% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 16.9% per year; rating input score 100; 84th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 82.4% of revenue deployed · 84.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 16 of 16 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $9.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 20 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 33 of 33 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 8 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 15/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 44/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 32/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 44/100.