Improving Education Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
473271696
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Baltimore, MD, USA
Phone
4432260809
Rating
85
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$2,273,854
Expenses
$2,546,260
Assets
$1,851,334
Liabilities
$629,422

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

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Jarrod Bolte (CEO)
  • Marc Stein (Executive Director Improvement COLAB)
  • Samantha McLemore (President and Board Chair)

Highest reported compensation

  • Jarrod Bolte (CEO): $185,618 total reported compensation
  • Marc Stein (Executive Director Improvement COLAB): $184,319 total reported compensation
  • Nathaniel Dewey (Director of Research- Improvement COLAB): $155,909 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Our mission is to provide solutions to improve educational systems.

What it reported doing in 2024

Bedtime in a Box & Learning in a Box. Through our Bedtime in a Box program we provide books healthcare items and bedtime materials to low-income families with children ages 0-5 to help them establish nightly bedtime routines supporting health early education and parent-child bonding. We also provide family sessions educating families on the importance of the nightly bedtime routine. During 2024 we distributed over 9,300 Bedtime Boxes to underserved families across the country.Learning in a Box. Our Learning in a Box program was developed by teacher participants in our 2020 Fellowship program during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in response to school closures. Through Learning in a Box we provide students in grades Preschool-2nd with a wide range of interactive resources to engage in fun meaningful learning activities at home. During 2024 we distributed over 1,000 Learning Boxes.

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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

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 total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 96
  • Transparency & Controls: 79
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 18
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 91.8%; rating input score 92
  • Fundraising efficiency: $82.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 84; 84th 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 14th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 7 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 88
    • 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: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -12%; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.34; rating input score 31; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 25%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 29.6% per year; rating input score 100; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 18.7% per year; rating input score 100; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 14.5% per year; rating input score 100; 73rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 91.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $2.3M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $186K · 8 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 46 of 46 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 4 filing years from 2020 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 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.

  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 11/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 31/100.