The Joan Ganz Cooney Center for Educational Media and Research Inc

What it reported doing in 2024

During fiscal year 2025, the joan ganz cooney center (jgcc) advanced its mission to support the design of digital media and technology that promote children's learning, development, and well-being. The center carried out research, design-based initiatives, professional learning programs, and field-building activities that translated evidence from child development and learning sciences into practical guidance for industry professionals, educators, and other stakeholders working in children's digital environments.(see schedule o)the center's work during the year focused on literacy innovation, responsible technology design, and professional capacity building, with the goal of improving the quality of digital products and experiences available to children and families.major initiatives and programmatic highlights: sandbox for literacy innovationsthe sandbox for literacy innovation supported the development of digital products for children by integrating research on literacy development and participatory design practices into product design and testing processes. Through this initiative, the center partnered with digital media and educational technology developers to provide research expertise, facilitate co-design activities with children, and conduct formative evaluations of product concepts and prototypes.during fy25, sandbox projects addressed a range of literacy-related topics, including early reading, writing, and language development, and included work with emerging digital tools such as ai-enabled learning applications. The center's staff provided guidance on aligning product features with evidence-based literacy practices and supported iterative refinement based on feedback from children and other stakeholders.the sandbox continued to be supported by philanthropic funding, including a multi-year investment from the walton family foundation. This support enabled the center to expand its capacity to work with product teams and to document and share lessons learned from applied research and co-design activities.responsible innovation in technology for children (ritec) and digital well-beingin fy25, the center continued its participation as the u.s.-based partner in the responsible innovation in technology for children (ritec) initiative, an international collaboration focused on understanding how digital products affect children's well-being. The center contributed to research dissemination, development of practitioner-oriented resources, and engagement with industry partners seeking to apply child-centered design frameworks.the center supported activities designed to help companies interpret research findings and incorporate well-being considerations into product design processes. These activities included workshops, convenings, and contributions to communities of practice involving researchers, designers, and other professionals working in children's digital play and media.through this work, the center advanced its charitable purpose by supporting the responsible design of digital environments for children and increasing access to research-based guidance for practitioners.well-being by design fellowshipthe well-being by design (wbxd) fellowship provided professional learning opportunities for individuals working in children's media and technology. The fellowship offered a structured program through which participants engaged with research on child development and well-being and applied these concepts to projects they were actively developing.during fy25, fellows participated in workshops, peer learning sessions, and design reviews, including feedback sessions involving a youth design team. The fellowship emphasized early-stage design decisions and encouraged participants to consider children's developmental needs throughout the product development process.the center continued to refine the fellowship model based on participant feedback and outcomes, with support from philanthropic and corporate funders. The program contri

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 86.5%; rating input score 87
• Program expense ratio: 75.3%; rating input score 75
• Fundraising efficiency: $8.41 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 32; 32nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 0 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 0
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Missing
  • Board or committee approval: Missing
• Foreign activity oversight: Scored; rating input score 0
• Grant itemization coverage: Scored; rating input score 0
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 16th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 9 controls in place; rating input score 89
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -1.6%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 11.94; rating input score 92; 92nd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.19; rating input score 45; 45th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 12.4%; rating input score 24; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 11th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -4.3% per year; rating input score 0; 4th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 40th percentile among comparable filings