Foundation for the Art and Science of Learning
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 823550087
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2021–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Pinson, AL, USA
- Phone
- 2052764553
- Rating
- 52
- Verdict
- MIXED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Research Institutes and/or Public Policy Analysis
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $679,163
- Expenses
- $669,631
- Assets
- $38,039
- Liabilities
- $0
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
2 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- Christine Drew (President)
People named in this filing
- Christine Drew (President)
- Brian Lloyd (Secretary)
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
The Foundation for the Art and Science of Learning (FASL) is a non-profit whose mission is to research, develop, inspire and spread effective instructional practices in schools to achieve immediate and lasting change in student learning.
What it reported doing in 2024
The expenses incurred enabled FASL to deliver Teams Improving Practice(TIP)professional learning institutes to create collective teacher efficacy in participating schools by creating peer examples of improved student learning. The program design requires 9 months of contact time, starting early in the school year so that teachers in the cohort could influence other teachers to modify their teaching practices beginning mid-yearfor Montgomery, Perry and Hale Counties, all high need school districts. Within one month after the first training session, 72% of teachers reported implementing a new strategy and a related increase in student learning. By the end of school year, only 2.1% did not know if their impact had increased.We can conclude that teachers who apply and measure the results of theirprofessional learning will experience an increase in sulf-efficacy. After only one month 80% of teachers did report sharing their results with other teachers, a first step towards collective teacher efficacy, a strategy highly correlated with better student outcomes. These expenses also help to layout books for That Could Be ME!
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Other-operating. 89% of the money available for current operations came from other operating 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
MIXED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 8
- Transparency & Controls: 90
- Accountability: 88
- Sustainability: 40
- Growth: 40
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 9.3%; rating input score 9
- Program expense ratio: 9.4%; rating input score 9
- Fundraising efficiency: Limited
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: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 5 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 71
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- 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: 1.4%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.06; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0; rating input score 91; 91st percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: -28.7% per year; rating input score 0; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 3.1% per year; rating input score 100; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: -40.1% per year; rating input score 0; 1st percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 9.3% of revenue deployed · 9.4% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 2 of 2 board members independent · 5 of 7 filing controls reported
- Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $63K in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 2 people listed
- Consistency: 17 of 17 current checks pass
- Schedules: 2 filed schedules
- Filing history: 4 filing years from 2021 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.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 9/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 9/100.
- High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
- High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
- Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.