Power of Place Learning Communities

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
921640401
IRS 990 coverage
2023–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2023
Location
Burlington, MA, USA
Phone
6172858386
Rating
66
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Professional Societies, Associations

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,240,241
Expenses
$1,151,523
Assets
$1,549,302
Liabilities
$1,451,875

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • JANE FEINBERG (PRESIDENT & CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • JANE FEINBERG (PRESIDENT & CEO): $197,917 total reported compensation
  • LAURA TOTA (SENIOR PROGRAM MANAGER): $113,336 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Power of place learning communities launched in january 2023, building on our previous successes directing the essex county learning community, which is the organization's flagship program. Since then, we have grown from 6 to 20 partner school districts and offering more than 200 hours of professional development each year to educators at 175 schools. We continue to build out our bench of world-class partners, with more than 30 organizations having contributed their talents to our community of learners. Our curriculum is highly responsive to educator needs. We are passionate about equipping educators with the mindsets and tools they need to teach and lead across differences so that all young people can thrive.

What it reported doing in 2024

Power of place learning communities launched in january 2023, building on our previous successes directing the essex county learning community, which is the organization's flagship program. We continue to build out our bench of world-class partners, with more than 20 organizations having contributed their talents to our community of learners. We work alongside educators in neighboring communities to co-design welcoming, relevant, rigorous, and energizing learning experiences that foster reflection, connection, conversation, and innovation. Our curriculum is highly responsive to educator needs, particularly in the post-pandemic era. We are passionate about equipping educators with the mindsets and tools they need to teach and lead across differences so that all young people can thrive.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 95% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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 - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of total spending goes to programs.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 52
  • Transparency & Controls: 70
  • Accountability: 83
  • Sustainability: 43
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 45.2%; rating input score 45
  • Program expense ratio: 48.7%; rating input score 49
  • Fundraising efficiency: $338.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 94; 94th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 1 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 17
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Missing
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 80%; rating input score 80; 18th 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: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Fail
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 7.2%; rating input score 55; 55th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.35; rating input score 52; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.94; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 27%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 57th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.5% per year; rating input score 100; 88th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 87.8% per year; rating input score 100; 99th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 45.2% of revenue deployed · 48.7% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 4 of 5 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $560K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $198K · 6 people listed · 1 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 1 contractor listed · $145K reported
  • Consistency: 28 of 28 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 2 filing years from 2023 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 2 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.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 45/100.
  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 49/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 55/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Audit committee oversight not reported.
  • Review — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 52/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 7/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 8/100.