The English-speaking Union of the United States - Group Return

What it reported doing in 2016

Since its inception in 2010, the ESU Shakespeare Teacher Programs have served more than 1,000 educators from over 30 states. The Andrew Romay New Immigrant Center (ARNIC) is committed to improving the lives of new immigrants by providing a welcoming environment, resources, and information to help them improve their English language skills to explore work and study opportunities, network, pursue citizenship, and acquire cultural fluency in order to participate fully in American society. ARNIC participants receive a one-year scholarship to participate in English in Action, English language classes, workshops, and cultural and civic trips and events. ARNIC is the standard-bearer for the ESU and reflects the institution's priorities and course of action. During the 2017 fiscal year, in addition to specially tailored English language speaking and writing classes, ARNIC program highlights included the 4th annual Thanksgiving dinner, an art show of photographs and paintings by ARNIC members, field trips to New York State courts, and the Tenement Museum. Special workshops were presented on entrepreneurship, online safety, social media, and the job hunt. Local banking institutions held career days that focused on resume building and interviewing. Additionally, members attended Rangers hockey games and Shakespeare in the Park performances, toured the United Nations, and participated in other American cultural experiences. In Fiscal Year 2017 alone, there were 240 ARNIC members from 90 countries, participating in 53 classes, 28 workshops and 16 field trips.English in Action pairs newcomers to the United States with volunteers, fluent English speakers, for one-on-one conversation sessions, helping them master conversational English and learn about life in the US, while also fostering cross-cultural exchange. A hallmark of the program is its comprehensive tutor training for the volunteers, which emphasizes the best practices in cross-cultural learning and leadership development. Expanded tutor trainings focused this year on cultural competency and working with refugees. In addition to extensive program operation in New York City, ESU branches in Portland (OR), Seattle (WA), Columbus (OH), Lexington (VA), Monmouth County (NJ), and New Orleans (LA) undertake the program. This year, English in Action engaged some 450 tutors and nearly 550 students from 94 countries on 6 continents.ESU Middle School Debate is an educational initiative for students in grades 5 to 8 that was launched with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is designed to help young adolescents develop critical thinking and language arts skills. The ESU partners with the Claremont McKenna College Middle School Public Debate Program, international leaders in middle school debate education, to establish inter-school debate programs in ESU Branch communities. The ESU Middle School Debate Program continued to expand this year. It now includes leagues in New York, New Jersey, and Washington DC. More than 50 public, private, parochial, and charter schools participated, engaging more than 1,950 students in weekly after-school debate activities. The program organized 22 day-long Saturday tournaments while training some 700 judges. Nearly 30 schools, encompassing 260 students, participated in the day. The ESU Secondary School Exchange (SSE) is a merit-based scholarship that provides tuition and room and board for US scholars to spend a semester or year between high school and college (known as a "gap year") at a select British or Argentine boarding school, and for UK scholars to spend their gap year at select US schools. In this year, 21 SSE students attended select independent schools in the UK, US, and Argentina through the program. Since its inception in 1928, some 6,000 students have participated. The Walter Hines Page Scholarship is named after the Honorable Walter Hines Page, American Ambassador to the Court of St. James's during World War I. This scholarship

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 80.9%; rating input score 81
• Fundraising efficiency: Limited

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 92.9%; rating input score 93; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Limited
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Missing
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -21%; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 1; 1st percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
• Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 72; 72nd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -36.4% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -14.6% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: -9.1% per year; rating input score 0; 12th percentile among comparable filings