Digital Promise

What it reported doing in 2024

Powerful learning: powerful learning is rooted in principles that empower both educators and learners, emphasizing collaboration, agency and the use of innovative tools and strategies to create impactful educational experiences. In 2024, the hp teaching fellows continued to advance powerful learning through regional and national conference presentations, leading discussions that enriched the learning community with insights and professional experiences. Through the ciena solutions challenge, digital promise and ciena awarded 20 project teams $2,500 to sustain and scale student-led projects. Students also shared their work with a global audience at the 2024 youthmade festival, digital promise's global celebration of youth creativity and innovation. The learner variability project (lvp) leverages emerging research to uncover strategies that meet the diverse needs of learners. In 2024, the lvp updated its learner variability navigator to with strategies aimed to be inclusive of students with learning differences. The pathways and credentials team advanced access to opportunity, rooted in the belief that pathways should open doors for all learners, by releasing influential research on learners and workers navigating technology careers, rural early childhood educators advancing socially and economically, learning and employment records (lers), and publishing its first ebook on micro-credentials for lifelong learning. The team also launched badge engine, digital promise's first open-source product.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 93%; rating input score 93
• Program expense ratio: 88.6%; rating input score 89
• Fundraising efficiency: $54.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.1%; rating input score 94; 28th 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: 1 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 12
  • Claims monitoring procedures: Pass
  • Requires narrative reports: Fail
  • Conducts field audits: Fail
  • May suspend future funding: Fail
  • Requires financial reports: Fail
  • Conducts site visits: Fail
  • Requires grant agreements: Fail
  • May require repayment: Fail
• Grant itemization coverage: 91.9%; rating input score 92; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 42nd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -3.3%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.04; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.7; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 5.9%; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 28.8% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 27.4% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 25.3% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings