Hill for Literacy Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
272366861
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2009
Location
Wakefield, MA, USA
Phone
8888600190
Rating
73
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,807,998
Expenses
$8,017,507
Assets
$7,072,527
Liabilities
$1,118,728

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

Leadership & pay

9 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DARCI BURNS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR- PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DARCI BURNS (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR- PRESIDENT): $239,865 total reported compensation
  • CYNTHIA MCGURL (DIR. OF HILL ONLINE): $211,688 total reported compensation
  • DIANA MALKIN (DIR. PROD DEVELOPMENT): $201,870 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Hill for literacy serves under-achieving elementary and secondary schools throughout new england. Its mission is to guide educators at all levels through the process of creating schools that excel in developing student's language and literacy skills.

What it reported doing in 2024

Hill for literacy serves under-achieving elementary and secondary schools in ma and ct. Its mission is to guide educators at all levels through the process of creating schools that excel in developing student's language and literary skills.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 98% 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

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 58
  • Transparency & Controls: 74
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 46
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 62.6%; rating input score 63
  • Program expense ratio: 68.7%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.77 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • 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: 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: 9%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.88; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.16; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.9%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.2% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 14% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 15.9% per year; rating input score 100; 76th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 62.6% of revenue deployed · 68.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 5 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $5.5M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $240K · 9 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 3 contractors listed · $1M reported
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 10 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.

Key Signals

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

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 33/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 23/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 49/100.