Live the Solution Dba Earn to Learn

What it reported doing in 2024

First accomplishment overview: earn to learn was established in 2013 to foster upward economic mobility for diverse populations. The model, anchored by a matched savings scholarship program, makes post-secondary pathways more financially affordable for students who may not otherwise feel they can afford the cost of education. Earn to learn empowers students and families to be financially and academically successful, thereby disrupting the cycle of poverty for hardworking families.over the past decade, earn to learn has provided a matched-savings scholarship that increases postsecondary enrollment and attainment while ensuring students graduate workforce-ready with little to no debt. Earn to learn provides these scholarship opportunities to pell-eligible students of all ages enrolled in multiple post-secondary pathways with partnered higher education institutions. The program complements forms of traditional financial aid that have proved insufficient to cover the total cost of attendance. Students deposit $500 into a savings account annually and receive an 8:1 match for $4,500 per year for tuition, room and board, childcare, and other approved educational-related expenses. The success coaching model, which includes financial wellness training, college readiness, and workforce readiness training is intended to enhance the matched savings scholarship opportunity.background: Arizona is the first state in the country to implement a program like earn to learn to support students with matched college savings.during the last school year earn to learn expanded to 4 additional states including: Michigan, Nevada, Utah, Georgia, Colorado, Virginia, and Oklahoma. Between the 7 states earn to learn supports students at 19 different institutions.earn to learn is based on a public private funding model with a 50/50 split which launched in the 2019/2020 academic year. Earn to learn may be considered a supplement to the federal pell grant program - helping students to further offset educational related expenses, effectively picking up where pell is falling short. The purchasing power of federal pell grants has fallen precipitously over the years.program success: earn to learn has a proven track record of success, operating for over a decade in Arizona to provide students with matched-savings scholarships and comprehensive support services. Our program consistently outperforms national averages for pell-eligible students. For instance, earn to learn boasts a six-year graduation rate of 80%, compared to the national average of 62%. Additionally, the first-year retention rate stands at 90%, well above the national average of 77%. This success has not gone unnoticed; it has led to the introduction of the earn to learn act in congress, which, if passed, could provide a long-term funding solution for the program.success metrics: earn to learn uses an electronic management system to track, monitor, and report student outcomes. This centralized data management system enables us to measure and evaluate funding sources, monitor participant activity and savings, track services and referrals provided to participants, and identify characteristics of participants who successfully complete the program. Earn to learn tracks and monitors participant demographic data, number of hours of personal finance training, recruitment and retention rates, academic performance, encounters with program staff, services/referrals received, and compliance with program requirements. Earn to learn utilizes national student clearinghouse data to verify student enrollment, retention and completion data. Earn to learn measures our impact through several key metrics, including but not limited to: total student savings (match 8:1): since inception, participants have invested nearly $3.8m in their education earning over $40m in additional grant aid. This is money that the students did not borrow and do not have to pay back. Hours of personal finance training: 58,000 hours for approxi

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 86.6%; rating input score 87
• Fundraising efficiency: $6.99 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 5 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 83
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Pass
  • 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: 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: 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: -89.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.26; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.66; rating input score 14; 14th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 4.5%; rating input score 57; 57th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 19.7% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 15.1% per year; rating input score 100; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 19.7% per year; rating input score 100; 83rd percentile among comparable filings