The Learning Council

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
841377794
IRS 990 coverage
2020–2025
Forms available
Form 990 2025, Form 990-EZ 2019, Form 990-T 2024, Form 990-N 2012
Location
Paonia, CO, USA
Phone
9704335852
Rating
76
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Elementary, Secondary Education, K - 12

Reported finances

Revenue
$701,893
Expenses
$618,888
Assets
$1,467,346
Liabilities
$99,634

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

7 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • Alicia Michelsen (Executive Director)
  • Sara Brody (Co-President)
  • Laura Parker (Co-President)

Highest reported compensation

  • Alicia Michelsen (Executive Director): $72,000 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2025. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

Enriching community through education, art, advocacy, food, agriculture and wellness for all.

What it reported doing in 2025

The Learning Council Provides educational opportunities for people of all demographics in agriculture, the arts, health and wellness and practical skills. TLC supports local farmers and provides food equity for the community through community meals, cooking classes and a year-round farmers' market. TLC advocates for underrepresented populations by providing resources including Health and vitality services, movement, sexual health education, mindfulness, diet and nutrition as well as trauma informed support.

Operating model

Revenue model
Donor-supported. 92% of the money available for current operations came from contributions and gifts.
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

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and some filed totals do not add up.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 71
  • Transparency & Controls: 86
  • Accountability: 69
  • Sustainability: 57
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 68.4%; rating input score 68
  • Program expense ratio: 77.6%; rating input score 78
  • Fundraising efficiency: $26.45 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 63; 63rd percentile among comparable filings

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: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 83.3%; rating input score 83; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 50
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Fail
    • Document-retention policy: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 11.8%; rating input score 60; 60th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.37; rating input score 69; 69th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 11.6%; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 20.4% per year; rating input score 100; 80th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 23.8% per year; rating input score 100; 86th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 30.1% per year; rating input score 100; 89th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 68.4% of revenue deployed · 77.6% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 5 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $480K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $72K · 7 people listed
  • Consistency: 24 of 25 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 6 filing years from 2020 to 2025
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 3 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.

Key Signals

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

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 3 of 7 not reported.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule A contributions reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 33/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 40/100.