Earth School Educational Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
261204422
IRS 990 coverage
2013–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023, Form 990-N 2016
Location
Phoenix, AZ, USA
Rating
81
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Education N.E.C.

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,205,131
Expenses
$1,059,107
Assets
$1,724,274
Liabilities
$2,459

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PETER M BYCK (PRESIDENT CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JOHANNA C BYCK (SECRETARY TREASURER): $71,358 total reported compensation
  • PETER M BYCK (PRESIDENT CEO): $49,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Environment and educational films - the carbon nation documentary film series and national tour began in 2010 with 1500 showings on the positive solutions to the damaging effect of climate change

What it reported doing in 2023

Earth school educational foundation continues the production and release of series of short films on sustainable agriculture, carbon mitigation and soil health. Short film, used as communication tools, are screened and presented at film festivals, conferences, corporations, stakeholder organizations and community events. All short films are available for public viewing online and free of charge.recent film releases include: herd impact, this farm is medicine, during the drought, i see water & sunsine, givers and takers, a fence and an owner. Amp project by carbon nation film crews documented farmers participating in the roots so deep research project. The four-part documentary film series was completed in 2023. Refer to program service accomplishments supplement to schedule o.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 87% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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. Some filed totals do not add up and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 82
  • Transparency & Controls: 85
  • Accountability: 72
  • Sustainability: 61
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.3%; rating input score 88
  • Program expense ratio: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 90.9%; rating input score 91; 8th 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: 66.7%; rating input score 67; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 78
    • 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: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 12.1%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.63; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 80; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 71st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.6% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.3% of revenue deployed · 100% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 6 board members independent · 7 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $1.1M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $71K · 6 people listed
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $365K reported
  • Consistency: 14 of 15 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 8 filing years from 2013 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 58/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 32/100.