Grantmakers for Education

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
330919329
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Portland, OR, USA
Phone
5035952100
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,389,406
Expenses
$3,206,947
Assets
$3,226,949
Liabilities
$434,839

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

Leadership & pay

17 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • NICOLE R LEACH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • NICOLE R LEACH (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $282,015 total reported compensation
  • BEVERLY ROSS DENNY (MANAGING DIRECTOR): $234,821 total reported compensation
  • KYLE MALONE (EXTERNAL AFFAIRS DIRECTOR): $140,022 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

As the leading network for education philanthropy, grantmakers for education offers an unparalleled platform for learning, collaboration, and influence-backed by front-line sector research, exclusive insights and a vibrant community of peers.

What it reported doing in 2024

Impact groups: impact groups are communities of members who agree to learn and lead together. Grantmakers for education hosts impact groups as member-driven spaces in which participants with a common interest can connect and collaborate around a specific topic to exchange ideas, share and develop strategies and build relationships. From grappling with ideas about critical problems to studying potential solutions to taking action with others, and more, impact groups allow participants to explore and understand their individual, organizational, and collective role in tackling the large and complex issues within our education systems.the influence and impact of grantmakers for education impact groups continues to grow over the years. In 2024, the out-of-school time impact group held over 20 programs and events, which included almost 1,000 participants. In addition, they published a database with multiple partners on strategies to support a thriving out-of-school time workforce. The postsecondary access and attainment impact group maintained regular communication with almost 300 member colleagues, started a new webinar series and researched and published a landscape scan of postsecondary collaboratives. In addition, grantmakers for education launched a new impact group in 2024 on playful learning. Other impact groups continued their strong work in bringing together mindful leaders in their areas of interest to learn, connect and advance the field.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 67
  • Transparency & Controls: 80
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 42
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 66.3%; rating input score 66
  • Program expense ratio: 69.6%; rating input score 70
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20.38 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 92.3%; rating input score 92; 10th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • 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: 9 of 9 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: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 5.4%; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.01; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.13; rating input score 53; 53rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 28.3%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 2.5% per year; rating input score 100; 25th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.1% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 66.3% of revenue deployed · 69.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 11 of 11 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.2M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $282K · 17 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 2 contractors listed · $247K reported
  • Consistency: 29 of 29 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 52/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 37/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 6/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 53/100.