Maine International Center for Digital Learning

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
260388484
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2014
Forms available
Form 990 2014
Location
Lewiston, ME, USA
Phone
2073707338
Rating
77
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$111,553
Expenses
$116,711
Assets
$2,891
Liabilities
$199

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • ELIZABETH MANCHESTER (TREASURER): $8,980 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2014. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To conduct and support research concerning the effectiveness of digital education, the use of computers in schools, and related topics; to act as a clearinghouse for best practices related to digital education; to conduct and support research and development of pedagogical methods that maximize the effectiveness of digital technology in education; and to educate the public about digital education, pedagogical methods, research results, and related topics.

What it reported doing in 2014

In 2001, the state of Maine embarked upon a broad and visionary program to transform learning by providing laptop computers and wireless classrooms to all 7th and 8th grade students and their teachers along with technical assistance and professional development for administrators and teachers. The Maine learning technology initiative (mlti) is now the largest and most successful ubiquitous 1:1 digital learning project on the planet. The program expanded in 2008 to include all teachers in 9-12th grade. Mlti is widely recognized as the international gold standard in the field of digital learning and was recently selected by the ministry of education in france to serve as one of 10 international model programs to merit further examination.each day almost 40,000 students and 4,000 teachers in Maine are transforming the learning experience. Initial research shows that the program has revolutionized teaching and learning and measurably impacted student achievement in math and writing. Five years experience with this amazing project has created a wealth of data on the innovative use of mobile technologies that is ripe for exploration.the team that developed the mlti project now recognizes that the time is ready to build on what we have learned. And so we have created the Maine international center for digital learning in collaboration with researchers at the university of southern Maine and educators around the world. The centers goal is to be the worlds center of research, information, and technical assistance in the field of 1:1 digital learning.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 73% 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 the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 23
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.2%; rating input score 90
  • Program expense ratio: 86.2%; rating input score 86
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • 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: 5 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 62
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -4.6%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.02; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.7%; rating input score 37; 37th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -76.9% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -15.6% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -40.6% per year; rating input score 0; 3rd percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 90.2% of revenue deployed · 86.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 7 of 7 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $101K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $9K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 26 of 26 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 5 filing years from 2010 to 2014
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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.

Grant-readiness screening is separate from the live rating, not a measure of program quality. Review the source records before making a grant decision.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 29/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 37/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.
  • High — Grant Readiness: Automatic revocation: this organization had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked.