Orange County Literacy Council Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
561433933
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2023
Forms available
Form 990 2023
Location
Carrboro, NC, USA
Phone
9199146153
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$291,639
Expenses
$407,327
Assets
$38,353
Liabilities
$18,469

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

15 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • J TAYLOR THURMAN (PRESIDENT)
  • JOHN SHERER (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • ALICE DENSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • ALICE DENSON (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $79,446 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2023. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

To help adults reach their education, employment and life goals by providing free, flexible instruction in reading, writing and basic math, english language and computer skills. The council helps adults to prepare to take the ged, other high school equivalency tests, the naturalization test and to transition to further education or jobs.

What it reported doing in 2023

The council provides adult and family literacy instruction - including reading, writing, math, computer and english language skills and citizenship instruction - using both paid and volunteer instructors. The council recruits, trains and provides on-going support in 1:1 matches, small classes, computer labs, family reading and other special topic classes and workshops. Classes and tutoring sessions are held both in-person and online, and students have the opportunity to use self-paced instructional software to enhance their learning.

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.

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: 96
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 84
  • Sustainability: 9
  • Growth: 80

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 92.7%; rating input score 93
  • Fundraising efficiency: $142.43 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 89; 89th percentile among comparable filings

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: 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: 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -39.7%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.09; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.48; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 19.5%; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 0.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5.6% per year; rating input score 0; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 92.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 13 of 13 board members independent · 5 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $378K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $79K · 15 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 24 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2012 to 2023
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: 2 of 7 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 6/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 20/100.