Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
273763547
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2020
Forms available
Form 990 2020
Location
Grand Rapids, MI, USA
Phone
6168191407
Rating
80
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Children's, Youth Services

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$13,081,274
Expenses
$6,275,673
Assets
$7,709,939
Liabilities
$609,653

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

12 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Annemarie Valdez (Vice President)
  • Amirah Vosburgh (President)
  • Dr Nkechy Ezeh (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • Dr Nkechy Ezeh (CEO): $131,365 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2020. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative's mission is to create and provide partners with support to increase the accessibility of early educational resources for vulnerable children in Grand Rapids, MI.

What it reported doing in 2020

The Organization and its partners have opened 19 classrooms that are intentionally designed and located to provide children living within our most vulnerable neighborhoods the opportunity to attend quality early childhood ecucation programs. In 2020, over 415 children and their families were assisted.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 74% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
Distribution model
Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 55% for direct work, and 45% for grants.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 61
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 75
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 41.7%; rating input score 42
  • Program expense ratio: 86.9%; rating input score 87
  • Fundraising efficiency: $91.46 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 18th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 67th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 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: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 52%; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.23; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.08; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 2.1%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 23.6% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 30.6% per year; rating input score 100; 96th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 44.9% per year; rating input score 100; 98th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 41.7% of revenue deployed · 86.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $131K · 12 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $177K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 29 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and grants
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2013 to 2020
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 15 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 14 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 42/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Grant Readiness: SAM / OFAC restrictions: this organization returned a name match close enough to need a human check before a grant is released.