The Early Learning Coalition of Southwest Florida Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
651144775
IRS 990 coverage
2018–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Fort Myers, FL, USA
Phone
2399356100
Rating
86
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Alliance/Advocacy Organizations

Reported finances

Revenue
$62,983,349
Expenses
$62,026,273
Assets
$7,707,815
Liabilities
$5,188,344

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

Leadership & pay

23 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DR MELANIE STEFANOWICZ (CEO)

Highest reported compensation

  • DR MELANIE STEFANOWICZ (CEO): $177,744 total reported compensation
  • GILDA DURAN (CHIEF PROG.): $126,960 total reported compensation
  • WYNETTA UPSHAW (CAO): $115,724 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 organization's primary exempt purpose is to enhance the quality of children's lives by providing families, early childhood educators, care- givers and community partners in collier, glades, hendry and lee counties, with opportunities to positively impact the future. The early learning programs have high quality standards, comprehensive services, seamless delivery systems with diverse settings, and well-educated, competent staff. The delivery systems for school readiness programs are comprised of child care providers and of school-based sites operated by public and nonpublic schools.

What it reported doing in 2024

Voluntary pre-kindergarten (vpk): a legislatively mandated, statewide program designed to prepare every four-year-old and younger five-year-olds in Florida for kindergarten and build the foundation for their educational success. The vpk program gives each child an opportunity for preparation to perform better in school and throughout life through participation in vpk. Providers contract to assure high literacy standards, accountability, appropriate curriculum, substantial instruction periods, manageable class sizes, and qualified instructors. The early learning coalition of southwest Florida supports the vpk program in collier, glades, hendry and lee counties by contracting for voluntary pre-kindergarten services and supporting the development of high quality vpk providers. The program is available for four and five-year-old children in 250 sites serving 7,567 children in our 4-county region.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 98% 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.
  • 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. Total assets are small relative to annual expenses; liquid coverage is unknown and expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 85
  • Transparency & Controls: 84
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 31
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 94.8%; rating input score 95
  • Program expense ratio: 96.2%; rating input score 96
  • Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 68th 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: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Missing
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • 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: 100%; rating input score 100; 77th 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: 1.5%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.12; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.67; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 1%; rating input score 75; 75th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 7.8% per year; rating input score 100; 62nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 8.2% per year; rating input score 100; 68th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 5.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 94.8% of revenue deployed · 96.2% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 18 of 18 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 3 filed program accomplishments · $59.7M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $178K · 23 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $4.4M reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 7 filing years from 2018 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 3/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 40/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.