The Hill Center Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
562089788
IRS 990 coverage
2009–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Durham, NC, USA
Phone
9194897464
Rating
83
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$9,318,926
Expenses
$8,213,291
Assets
$34,317,626
Liabilities
$3,920,837

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

Leadership & pay

28 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • ELIZABETH ANDERSON (PRESIDENT (UNTIL 08/2024))

Highest reported compensation

  • BRYAN BRANDER (HEAD OF SCHOOL/EXECUTIVE D): $271,897 total reported compensation
  • ELIZABETH ANDERSON (PRESIDENT (UNTIL 08/2024)): $264,815 total reported compensation
  • JENNIFER HOLLINGSWORTH (CFO): $159,810 total reported compensation

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

Overview

Mission

Hill learning center transforms students with learning differences into confident, independent learners.

What it reported doing in 2024

Founded in 1977, hill learning center offers student and educator programs grounded in equitable, research-based, differentiated instruction for students with learning and attention challenges. Hill learning center supports students, educators, and families with research-based, culturally relevant programs designed to meet the needs of students with learning differences, attention challenges, gaps in foundational academic skills, and difficulties with executive function. Hill serves students in grades k-12 through school, summer, and tutoring programs at hill and in local public schools and offers professional development opportunities for k-12 teachers and schools, providing an understanding of learning disabilities and adhd and the instructional strategies and tools teachers need to deliver research-based instruction and intervention in reading, writing, math, and executive function skills. Hill learning center also helps families better understand, support, and advocate for their children with learning differences and attention challenges. Hill learning center is accredited by the southern association of independent schools and is also approved by the North Carolina department of public instruction as an alternative" school for children with learning disabilities. Hill's teacher professional development program is accredited by the international multisensory structured language education council and recognized by the international dyslexia association.

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 72% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 92% 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 reported officer compensation is a large share of total spending, which may reflect staffing concentration.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 74
  • Transparency & Controls: 83
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 65
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 80%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 83.8%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $4.08 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 13; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • 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; 63rd 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: 11.9%; rating input score 66; 66th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 4.18; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.11; rating input score 56; 56th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.4%; rating input score 26; 26th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 35th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 6.1% per year; rating input score 100; 49th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.7% per year; rating input score 100; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 80% of revenue deployed · 83.8% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 23 of 23 board members independent · 9 of 9 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $6.9M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $272K · 28 people listed · 3 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Consistency: 34 of 34 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 9 filed schedules · includes major donors, grants, and executive pay
  • Filing history: 15 filing years from 2009 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 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 — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 13/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 26/100.
  • Review — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 56/100.