Garland School Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
900496179
IRS 990 coverage
2016–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2015
Location
Brattleboro, VT, USA
Phone
8022589531
Rating
92
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$772,150
Expenses
$742,846
Assets
$490,507
Liabilities
$15,342

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • SHANNON LAMB (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • LAURA BEATTY (BOARD MEMBER)
  • AMY BEECHER (VICE PRESIDE)
  • DEVIN COWAN (BOARD MEMBER)

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 garland school's mission is to provide high quality childcare grounded in a nature-based curriculum that focuses on trusting children's innate capacity for learning, and to support this capacity with outdoor exploration, purposeful work, and imaginative and free play within a strong daily rhythm.

What it reported doing in 2024

Provided high quality childcare for children, aged 1 to 6, and supported families and the general community by offering a space for gatherings, parent education, and school functions. All applicants and students are and were welcome, and we were and remain committed to fostering a fully inclusive school community.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 70% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 97
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 94
  • Sustainability: 47
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.1%; rating input score 96
  • Program expense ratio: 99.9%; rating input score 100
  • Fundraising efficiency: $528.57 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th 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: Limited
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 6 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 86
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 3.8%; rating input score 47; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.66; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 58; 58th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 19.6% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 15.3% per year; rating input score 100; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 26.3% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.1% of revenue deployed · 99.9% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 6 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $742K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2016 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 47/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 30/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 58/100.