Early Learning Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
851733970
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Colchester, VT, USA
Phone
8025401203
Rating
79
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$594,851
Expenses
$550,658
Assets
$296,251
Liabilities
$15,510

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • LAURA LEE (PRESIDENT (END 8/31/24))
  • KENDALL IRVING (PRESIDENT (START 8/31/24))

People named in this filing

  • LAURA LEE (PRESIDENT (END 8/31/24))
  • CHRIS LEI (SECRETARY (END 8/31/24))
  • JAMES FRASER (TREASURER)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

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

Overview

Mission

To value children and families and promote positive learning experiences in an environment that inspires curiosity, nurtures respectful relationships and empowers active involvement in the community.

What it reported doing in 2024

The early learning center (elc) is an early childhood education program created in partnership with families, educators and members of the community. The center is a fully licensed, developmentally oriented program located at fort ethan allen in colchester, Vermont, providing high quality child care and early education for 38 children ages 6 weeks to 6 years. We believe that children are competent learners from birth. We value children's natural curiosity and individual ideas and facilitate children's learning through a developmentally appropriate, play-based curriculum in an enrighing, safe, and nurturing envrionment, in which children reach their full potential. Our center is committed to providing the very best in early childhood education experience for every child and family in our care.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 97% 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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 76
  • Sustainability: 49
  • Growth: 20

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 95.1%; rating input score 95
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.1 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th 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: 3 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 43
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: 7.4%; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.54; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.05; rating input score 51; 51st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -0.5% per year; rating input score 0; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -3.7% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30.2% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88% of revenue deployed · 95.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 3 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $524K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 9 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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.

  • Moderate — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 25/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 56/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 51/100.