Samara Learning Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
465701194
IRS 990 coverage
2022–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-EZ 2020, Form 990-N 2018
Location
Bend, OR, USA
Phone
5414193324
Rating
65
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Specialized Education Institutions

Reported finances

Revenue
$279,040
Expenses
$290,890
Assets
$55,201
Liabilities
$10,287

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

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Heather Chathem (Executive Director)

Highest reported compensation

  • Heather Chathem (Executive Director): $35,397 total reported compensation
  • Kristina Mylne (Executive Assistant): $33,660 total reported compensation
  • Sara Compton (Lead SPED Teacher): $23,849 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

To provide students with learning differences a program that promotes the development of academics language social-emotional creative growth and those attributes that will contribute to lifelong success proactivity perseverance self-awareness self-advocacy and problem solving. We do this through an alternative school tutoring enrichment programs and after school care program..

What it reported doing in 2024

After School Program funded by Oregon Department of Education the purpose of which to provide opportunities for Culturally Specific Community-Based Organizations in Partnership with districts to offer Culturally Affirming and enriching After School Learning Programs for Students particularly Focal Students who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For Samara this includes school age children with learning challenges dyslexia ADHD high functioning autism # of students 21 33.6 hrs average per month. This program ended in September 2024

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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of voting board members are independent and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 66
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 35
  • Sustainability: 21
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 72.1%; rating input score 72
  • Program expense ratio: 69.1%; rating input score 69
  • Fundraising efficiency: $5.17 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 91.7%; rating input score 92; 19th 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: 20%; rating input score 20; 15th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 5 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 56
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Fail
    • 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: -4.2%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.19; rating input score 11; 11th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 20; 20th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 31.9%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.5% per year; rating input score 100; 85th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 26.1% per year; rating input score 100; 91st percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 17% per year; rating input score 100; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 72.1% of revenue deployed · 69.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 1 of 5 board members independent · 5 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $201K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $35K · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 40 of 41 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 3 filing years from 2022 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 4 filed money-flow records
  • 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.

  • High — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 20/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 23/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 8 not reported.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 11/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 10/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 20/100.