Dimensions Educational Research Foundation
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 311511625
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2009–2024
- Official website data refreshed
- Sep 2026
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
- Location
- Lincoln, NE, USA
- Phone
- 1-888-908-8733
- Rating
- 86
- Verdict
- STRONG
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Education N.E.C.
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $3,174,630
- Expenses
- $3,503,990
- Assets
- $3,797,375
- Liabilities
- $3,851,129
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
14 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- TARA SCHROEDER (CEO)
Highest reported compensation
- TARA SCHROEDER (CEO): $96,310 total reported compensation
- JENNIFER SHINER (CIO): $92,163 total reported compensation
- SARA NELSON (COO): $70,389 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 inspire joy and wonder in children, educators, and communities with a heart-centered approach to early education.
What it reported doing in 2024
The organization operates a bimonthly publication focused on supporting early childhood professionals worldwide in their efforts to craft early childhood environments where adults and children thrive.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 88% 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.
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: 85
- Transparency & Controls: 92
- Accountability: 100
- Sustainability: 22
- Growth: 60
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
- Program expense ratio: 82.9%; rating input score 83
- Fundraising efficiency: $4.96 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 17; 17th 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: 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: -10.4%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.08; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 1.01; rating input score 5; 5th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 8.8%; rating input score 34; 34th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -0.4% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 12.5% per year; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
- Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 82.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 10 of 10 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.9M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $96K · 14 people listed
- Consistency: 30 of 30 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors
- Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 5 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.
- Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.
Key Signals
Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 17/100.
- High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 13/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 40/100.
- High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 5/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 34/100.