The Center for Early Education

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
951768857
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
West Hollywood, CA, US
Phone
323-651-0707
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Primary, Elementary Schools

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$28,282,892
Expenses
$33,265,792
Assets
$158,893,867
Liabilities
$41,798,383

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

Leadership & pay

32 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • TANYA GREIG PERARA (PRESIDENT)
  • JAMIE ZINBERG (VICE PRESIDENT)

Highest reported compensation

  • DAMIAN JONES (HEAD OF SCHOOL): $610,528 total reported compensation
  • ERIKA JOHNSON (ASSISTANT HEAD OF SCHOOL): $339,477 total reported compensation
  • LAURA MAHER (DIRECTOR OF ADVANCEMENT): $288,194 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 develop joyful, resilient, lifelong learners.

What it reported doing in 2024

The center provides educational programs for approximately 540 students in grades toddler through sixth (ages 2-12). The center's academic, arts, and physical education programs instill a love of learning in students at an early age. Within the team teaching classroom environment, children explore literature, writing, math, and social studies. Specialists teach additional subjects, including science, art, music, physical education, and library science. Our state of the art innovation center enables children to have the intellectual curiousity and creativity to ask questions and the skills needed to answer those questions. Our graduates are confident, engaged and successful at the schools to which they matriculate.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 82% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 88% 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.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

STRONG - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 77
  • Transparency & Controls: 87
  • Accountability: 95
  • Sustainability: 37
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 90.7%; rating input score 91
  • Program expense ratio: 76.8%; rating input score 77
  • Fundraising efficiency: $2.31 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Pass
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 66th 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Pass
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -17.6%; rating input score 6; 6th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.78; rating input score 84; 84th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 50; 50th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 8.2%; rating input score 29; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 5.6% per year; rating input score 100; 47th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.7% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 4 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 1 operating location identified
  • Where the money goes: 90.7% of revenue deployed · 76.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 7 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $25.6M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $611K · 32 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $2.4M reported
  • Consistency: 37 of 37 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 10 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 16 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 9 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.

  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 8/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 6/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Form 990 shared with the board not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 29/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 50/100.