Walden Foundation Inc
Nonprofit profile at a glance
- EIN
- 941464735
- IRS 990 coverage
- 2010–2024
- Forms available
- Form 990 2024
- Location
- Berkeley, CA, USA
- Phone
- 5108417248
- Rating
- 72
- Verdict
- SUPPORTED
- Rating confidence
- Moderate
- Sector
- Primary, Elementary Schools
Reported finances
- Revenue
- $2,515,477
- Expenses
- $1,841,995
- Assets
- $4,513,139
- Liabilities
- $282,172
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.
Leadership & pay
8 people listed
Executive titles in this filing
- HARLEY GOLDSTROM (PRESIDENT)
Highest reported compensation
- JEFF GRETHER (FOUNDATION MEMBER): $80,229 total reported compensation
- DEBRA WONG (FOUNDATION MEMBER): $78,689 total reported compensation
- WINONA JOHNSON-ALEXANDER (SECRETARY): $78,444 total reported compensation
Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.
Overview
Mission
Walden center and school is an independent , k-6 school where drama, music and art sit alongside traditional academic subjects as our core curriculum. Walden's philosophy of education incorporates the following principles (sch o): integrating arts and academics-artistic expression is an essential element of every child's education. Encouraging the whole child- children learn best when their academic, emotional, physical, and social needs are addressed concurrently. Seeing children as individuals- in designing and implementing curricula, we take an individualized approach in order to meet each child where he or she is developmentally. Teaching as a collective- the teachers run the school, which provides them with autonomy and flexibility in the classroom and direct participation in school-wide decision making. Our approach to learning encourages creativity, collaboration, and critical thinking as means to help children develop a lifelong love of learning, a strong sense of commmunity.
What it reported doing in 2024
Walden is an arts-integrated, progressive, teacher-run elementary school in berkeley, California. Our curriculum combines developmentally appropriate expectations with challenging units of study. The school's environment enhances each child's academic, emotional, social, and physical growth. Extended day-care is also provided. Parents and educators founded walden center and school in 1958 to create a learning environment that treats artistic expression as an essential element of every child's academic experience. Walden provided 26% of its students financial aid. There were 73 students enrolled during the school year.
Operating model
- Revenue model
- Earned-program. 96% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
- Distribution model
- Hybrid. The nonprofit split its reported program spending across 72% for direct work, and 28% for grants.
The verdict
SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and a large share of total spending goes to programs. A relatively small share of available resources goes toward mission work and a relatively small share of voting board members are independent.
Rating breakdown
- Financial Efficiency: 60
- Transparency & Controls: 93
- Accountability: 60
- Sustainability: 68
- Growth: 100
Detailed rating inputs
Financial Efficiency
- Mission deployment rate: 56.3%; rating input score 56
- Program expense ratio: 78.9%; rating input score 79
- Fundraising efficiency: $5.39 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 19; 19th percentile among comparable filings
Transparency & Controls
- Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
- Pay-setting controls: Limited
- Foreign activity oversight: Limited
- Grant itemization coverage: 100%; rating input score 100; 72nd percentile among comparable filings
- Major donor itemization: Limited
- Related-party transparency: Limited
Accountability
- Independent voting board: 50%; rating input score 50; 8th percentile among comparable filings
- Governance controls: 6 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 75
- Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
- Whistleblower policy: Pass
- Document-retention policy: Pass
- CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
- Other executive compensation review process: Pass
- Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
- Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
- Audit committee oversight: Missing
- Independent financial-statement audit: Fail
Sustainability
- Operating margin: 26.8%; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings
- Total-asset coverage ratio: 2.45; rating input score 68; 68th percentile among comparable filings
- Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.06; rating input score 67; 67th percentile among comparable filings
- Officer compensation ratio: 16%; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
Growth
- Program expense growth: 1.7% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
- Revenue growth: 0.1% per year; rating input score 100; 12th percentile among comparable filings
- Asset growth: 3.3% per year; rating input score 100; 26th percentile among comparable filings
Details
- Where the money goes: 56.3% of revenue deployed · 78.9% of spending went to programs
- Governance: 4 of 8 board members independent · 6 of 8 filing controls reported
- Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $1.5M in reported program spending
- Leadership: top reported pay $80K · 8 people listed
- Consistency: 31 of 31 current checks pass
- Schedules: 6 filed schedules · includes grants
- Filing history: 15 filing years from 2010 to 2024
- Contacts: How to reach this organization
- Money network: 4 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.
- Review — Financial Efficiency: Mission deployment rate scored 56/100.
- Review — Accountability: Independent voting board scored 50/100.
- High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 19/100.
- Review — Accountability: Governance controls: Independent financial-statement audit not reported.
- High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 17/100.