United Way of Southeast Louisiana

What it reported doing in 2024

New orleans grade level reading campaign: vision: all students in new orleans read at grade level by the end of third grade.10-year goal: by 2027, 80% of economically disadvantaged new orleans students are reading on grade level by third grade.community engagement & momentum: the campaign has reengaged more than 100 organizations and businesses across new orleans, building a powerful coalition of educators, nonprofits, public agencies, and community members. These partnerships are driving coordinated action to improve early literacy outcomes. Regional advocacy efforts have expanded to st. Tammany, jefferson, plaquemines, and st. Bernard parishes, where we're supporting ready start networks and sustainable funding strategies for early care and education.strategic priorities for 2024-2025:1. Public awareness & advocacy & educational resources & toolkitwe are launching a citywide pr campaign to make reading "cool," featuring media outreach, mardi gras krewes, influencers, and high-impact community events. Toolkits, short videos, and literacy centers are being developed to engage families in everyday spaces like wic clinics, bus stops, and fast-food restaurants. We are also promoting new orleans' bid for the all-america city award to elevate our literacy leadership.2. School readinesswe continue to advocate for increased funding to expand access to high-quality early care and education for "at-risk" children from birth to age three. Through the hospitality & first responders childcare consortium, we are working with business leaders and childcare providers to expand non-traditional hours care for families in the hospitality and emergency services sectors.3. Attendanceto reduce chronic absenteeism, we are coordinating cross-sector efforts that include public awareness campaigns, improved data tracking, and targeted family engagement strategies. Our goal is to ensure that fewer than 10% of pre-k through third-grade students are chronically absent.4. Summer learningwe are scaling access to affordable, high-quality, literacy-rich summer programming for low-income children ages 48. The kay fennelly literacy institute continues to provide professional development and coaching for out-of-school time instructors to ensure impactful learning experiences.5. Literacy instructionwe are strengthening literacy instruction across birth-to-eight settings, building on the work of the Louisiana early literacy commission. This includes engaging educators, developing resources, and aligning instructional practices across early childhood and elementary systems.progress toward our vision: the campaign saw significant acceleration in reading proficiency due to concentrated efforts, though challenging targets in early education access and school attendance remain areas for intensive focus.1. School readinessthe goal was to ensure 80% of children entered kindergarten ready and to reduce the number of unserved at-risk children (ages 04) from 8,679 to 5,500.- status: significant gap remains. While the campaign and its partners intensified efforts to enroll children in high-quality seats, the most recent available data (fall 2024) shows that the percentage of kindergarteners meeting or exceeding readiness standards remains low, near the state's average of 28.4%. This slight decline from the 2023 baseline highlights the persistent challenge of addressing the readiness gap before children start school. Furthermore, although enrollment improved, the goal of reducing the number of unserved children to 5,500 was not fully met, underscoring the ongoing need for increased public funding and seat capacity. 2. Chronic absenteeismthe goal was to reduce chronic absenteeism among pre-k through third grade students from the 2023 baseline of 28.6% to below 10% by the end of 2024.- status: moderate improvement, but far from goal. Data from the 2024-2025 school year indicates that chronic absenteeism in new orleans has begun to decrease from its pandemic-era peak, following

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 100%; rating input score 100
• Program expense ratio: 88.7%; rating input score 89
• Fundraising efficiency: $11.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 42; 42nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 94.7%; rating input score 95; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 3 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 50
  • Compensation committee: Pass
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: 93.6%; rating input score 94; 23rd 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; 66th 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: -15.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 1.21; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.23; rating input score 54; 54th percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 8.9%; rating input score 25; 25th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 2.7% per year; rating input score 100; 24th percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: -0.8% per year; rating input score 0; 6th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 4.7% per year; rating input score 100; 33rd percentile among comparable filings