Early Learning Coalition of Flagler and Volusia

Legal name: The Early Learning Coalition of Flagler and Volusia Counties Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
593646549
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Official website data refreshed
Sep 2026
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Daytona Beach, FL, US
Phone
386-317-3350
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Nonmonetary Support N.E.C.

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$44,996,331
Expenses
$45,026,256
Assets
$4,650,085
Liabilities
$4,352,122

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

Leadership & pay

27 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DJ LEBO (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER)

Highest reported compensation

  • DJ LEBO (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER): $176,184 total reported compensation
  • HEATHER DIRENZO (CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER): $125,331 total reported compensation
  • ALLISON MILLER (CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER): $103,387 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

The Early Learning Coalition of Flagler and Volusia Counties provides quality early learning opportunities for children and families in Flagler and Volusia counties.

What it reported doing in 2024

School readiness programprogram objective: to prepare children to succeed when they enter school; to assist early learning providers in offering the highest quality programs possible; to help parents understand their role as their child's first teachers and involve them in their child's early education.school readiness early learning/care is delivered through a comprehensive network of 169 contracted legal school readiness providers in flagler and volusia counties. To ensure parental choice, parents may choose care from contracted school readiness early learning providers including: licensed centers and family child care homes, registered family child care homes, school-based programs, license-exempt programs, and informal child care throughout flagler and volusia counties.school readiness programs are broken down into three areas: services for children, services for families, and services for early learning providers.6,048 children ages birth to thirteen years old were funded for child care services. These children are from economically disadvantaged families or at risk of abuse or neglect.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 99% 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. Expenses are high relative to revenue and total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 86
  • Transparency & Controls: 76
  • Accountability: 97
  • Sustainability: 25
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 97.3%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 97.3%; rating input score 97
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 93.8%; rating input score 94; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: 94.6%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 95.2%; rating input score 95; 29th percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 9 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • 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: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -0.1%; rating input score 30; 30th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.1; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.94; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1.3%; rating input score 83; 83rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 9.5% per year; rating input score 100; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.5% per year; rating input score 100; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 6.8% per year; rating input score 100; 48th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • What they do: 12 programs and campaigns described on the official site · 2 operating locations identified
  • Where the money goes: 97.3% of revenue deployed · 97.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 20 of 21 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $43.8M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $176K · 27 people listed · 2 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $6.5M reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 36 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 8 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: 8 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: 1 filed related-organization link
  • 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 — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 30/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 8/100.
  • Review — Transparency & Controls: Domestic grant itemization did not reconcile in the filed values.