The Mariposa Center

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
113819923
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2018
Forms available
Form 990 2018, Form 990-N 2007
Location
Providence, RI, USA
Phone
4013310500
Rating
74
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Child Day Care

Reported finances

Revenue
$3,841
Expenses
$78,157
Assets
$0
Liabilities
$0

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

6 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • PAULA C SAGER (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)

People named in this filing

  • PAULA C SAGER (PRESIDENT/DIRECTOR)
  • MICHAEL A DECATALDO (TREASURER/DIRECTOR)
  • LINDA ATAMIAN (SECRETARY/DIRECTOR)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2018. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mariposa center is to create a safe, warm, nurturing place where children can know the joy of learning, creating and doing at an early age, and where families can be part of a welcoming learning community. Mariposa aims to acquaint children with the power of their own imagination and the confidence of their abilities, inspiring them to embark on lives in which learning is as natural and necessary as breathing. Mariposa aims to give them a foundation of a healthy lifestyle - based on good nutrition, regular activity, and an affinity for the natural world - that will last for their entire lives. Mariposa seeks to strengthen the bonds of community.

What it reported doing in 2018

Mariposa pre-k program: our program encourages children to learn by imagining, inventing, building, role-playing, and creating their own play environments. This method informs confidence, collaboration, communication, and creative thinking. The program offers a way for parents to engage in a meaningful way with their children. The program offers close observation by the teacher and positive teacher-child interactions which move each child forward in their individual learning. We believe in teachers as role models for learning & healthy living. We build on the strengths of families. As an all-day learning environment for pre-kindergarten, the program serves as a laboratory for research on teaching & learning methods, as well as an incubator for developing a model of childhood learning in urban settings.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 64% 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.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 75
  • Transparency & Controls: 90
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 9
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
  • Program expense ratio: 53.1%; rating input score 53
  • Fundraising efficiency: $0.47 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 62nd 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; 64th 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: Fail
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • 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: -1,934.8%; rating input score 3; 3rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0; rating input score 2; 2nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: Limited
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 61; 61st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -10.5% per year; rating input score 0; 32nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.9% per year; rating input score 0; 52nd percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -5.7% per year; rating input score 0; 24th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 100% of revenue deployed · 53.1% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 6 of 6 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 2 filed program accomplishments · $41K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 6 people listed
  • Consistency: 19 of 20 current checks pass · 1 finding to review
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules
  • Filing history: 9 filing years from 2010 to 2018
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • 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 — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 53/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 3/100.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 2/100.
  • Moderate — Transparency & Controls: Schedule D land buildings reconciliation did not reconcile in the filed values.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.