Onward Learning

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
872678295
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2022, Form 990-N 2021
Location
Martin, SD, USA
Phone
6055153262
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Kindergarten, Preschool, Nursery School, Early Admissions

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$201,575
Expenses
$490,606
Assets
$136,031
Liabilities
$25,174

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Mary Jo Fairhead (Executive Director)
  • Arlana Bettelyoun (President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Mary Jo Fairhead (Executive Director): $52,250 total reported compensation
  • Chelsi Brown (Secretary): $1,575 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Onward Learning ensures a safe community of interactive learning with a love based and child centered approach. Every child is seen as extraordinary and is supported in finding their own unique strengths and interests through embracing curiosity, creativity, connection, and independence. This is accomplished through age specific education.

What it reported doing in 2025

Taking Flight and Age of Exploration - Grade 1st through 8th. Highly experienced teachers guide students in meaningful, real-world learning, giving students a deeper understanding of language, mathematics, science, social studies, music, the natural world, social interactions and much more. Learning is enriched through community awareness activities such as visiting senior centers to perform, performances for the community, hosting bake sales, and volunteering at various community events. 14 students were served with the majority of students recieving discounted tuition and/or tuition assistance.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 65% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 91
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 10
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 87.7%; rating input score 88
  • Fundraising efficiency: $20 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th 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; 64th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -143.4%; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.28; rating input score 15; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 0.2% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.6% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17.9% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 87.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $430K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $52K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 25 of 25 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2023 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 1/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Review — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 55/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 15/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.