Conservative Leaders for Education

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
814027500
IRS 990 coverage
2017–2019
Forms available
Form 990 2019
Location
Alexandria, VA, USA
Phone
5157717283
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$448,000
Expenses
$409,682
Assets
$203,694
Liabilities
$171

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • KAREN NUSSLE (PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • KAREN NUSSLE (PRESIDENT): $40,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2019. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Under the every student succeeds act, states are required to develop and implement state-specific plans addressing teacher evaluations and assessments, and plans to enhance the performance of the state's lowest performing schools. Recognizing the complexity of this task, cl4e convenes state leaders and members of the general public, including school administrators, for the purporse of discussing ideas regarding the state specific plans and to encourage collaboration among the state leaders and the general public regarding implementation. This practice encourages the development of innovative plans as well as innovative means of implementing the plans and facilitates support from all interested parties. By facilitating discussions in all fifty states and the distrtict of columbia, cl4e develops resources regarding best practices in k-12 education policy, which it shares with state leaders and the general public. Pursuant to its articles of incorporation, cl4e is specifically organized f

What it reported doing in 2019

Serve as an information resource regarding innovation and best practices in k-12 education policy.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 100% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Program spending has declined or grown slowly and revenue has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 90
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.7%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 97%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4,186.92 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 100; 100th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 8.6%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.5; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 9.8%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -11.3% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -41.1% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -49.8% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.7% of revenue deployed · 97% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $398K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $40K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 19 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 3 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2017 to 2019
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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 — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 24/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.