Leadership for Educational Achievement Foundation Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
208206775
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Latham, NY, USA
Phone
5184491063
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Educational Services and Schools - Other

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,100,194
Expenses
$2,959,724
Assets
$2,174,470
Liabilities
$157,972

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

Leadership & pay

18 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR DAVID O'ROURKE (PRESIDENT)
  • DR CHARLES DEDRICK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR CHARLES DEDRICK (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $261,261 total reported compensation
  • ROBERT LOWERY (DEPUTY DIRECTOR): $250,550 total reported compensation
  • JACINDA CONBOY (IN-HOUSE LEGAL): $221,673 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Leaf is a not-for-profit organization formed to enhance professional growth & development of public school leaders in New York state through ongoing professional training and development backed by sound and proven research. The ultimate goal of this work will be to ensure the highest quality of school leadership at all levels so that all children are afforded opportunities to learn to higher standards while having their individual talents nurtured and personal growth expanded. The corporation will seek to achieve its goals through a variety of scholarly endeavors, research, seminars and programs.

What it reported doing in 2024

Fall summit: public education: the pathway to everywhereleaf, inc. Sponsored New York state council of school superintendents annual fall summit focusing conversations on transforming school culture through online and blended learning and tapping into students' creative potential. The fall leadership summit offers keynote addresses by national experts in the fields of leadership, education and related areas; opportunities for members to share best practices with colleagues through smaller educational sessions; an interactive discussion with the commissioner of education about New York state issues and initiatives; and networking for support and collegiality among members through social interaction, group discussions, meeting and workshops.432 superintendents and 149 assistant superintendents were served in 2024-25.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 100% 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 - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and most voting board members are independent. Few specific pay-setting methods are documented in the filing; unanswered boxes are not proof of absence and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 80
  • Transparency & Controls: 60
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 44
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 88.8%; rating input score 89
  • Program expense ratio: 93.4%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Missing
  • 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: 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: Fail
    • 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: 4.5%; rating input score 49; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.73; rating input score 27; 27th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 64; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 6.1%; rating input score 46; 46th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 13.3% per year; rating input score 100; 74th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 12.8% per year; rating input score 100; 77th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 12.9% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 88.8% of revenue deployed · 93.4% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $2.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $261K · 18 people listed · 0 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $250K reported
  • Consistency: 22 of 22 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Transparency & Controls: Pay-setting controls scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 49/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 27/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: CEO compensation review process not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 46/100.