Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 132890752
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2021
- Forms available
- Form 990 2021
- Location
- Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Phone
- 3178061268
- Rating
- 61
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Adult, Continuing Education
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,930,537
- Expenses
- $5,481,875
- Assets
- $0
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
15 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- ALEX MORRISON (PRESIDENT/CEO THROUGH 4/12/21)
- EARL BUFORD (INCOME PRESIDENT/CEO)
- ELIZABETH DOYLE (VICE PRESIDENT PARTNER SER)
- CHRISTINE CARPENTER (VICE PRESIDENT MEMBERSHIP)
- ELIZABETH BRANDES (VICE PRESIDENT MARKETING)
Highest reported compensation
- WILLIAM HANSEN (TRUSTEE): $1,671,048 total reported compensation
- THOMAS DAWSON (CHAIR): $645,365 total reported compensation
- ALEX MORRISON (PRESIDENT/CEO THROUGH 4/12/21): $603,030 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2021. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Cael pioneers learning strategies for individuals and organizations. We advance lifelong learning in partnership with educational institutions, employers, labor organizations, government, and communities. Cael works to remove policy and organizational barriers to learning.
What it reported doing in 2021
Workforce & economic development: provides research, facilitation and planning assistance to public sector and healthcare organizations developing education and training initiatives.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
- 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
SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 78
- Transparency & Controls: 71
- Accountability: 42
- Sustainability: 2
- Growth: 0
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 65.8%; rating input score 66
- Fundraising efficiency: $3.87 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
- Compensation committee: Missing
- Independent consultant: Missing
- Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
- Written employment contract: Missing
- Compensation survey or study: Missing
- Board or committee approval: Missing
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: Limited
- Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
- Related-party transparency: Yes; rating input score 100
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 0%; rating input score 0; 3rd 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: -39.5%; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 0; 0th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
- Officer compensation ratio: 18.5%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -7.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: -4.9% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -8.7% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 65.8% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 0 of 3 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $3.6M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $1.7M · 15 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
- Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $909K reported
- Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
- Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
- Filing history: 12 filing years from 2009 to 2021
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
- Related organizations: 8 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 — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 0/100.
- High — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 2/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 0/100.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 11/100.