Waldorf Early Childhood Assn of North America

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
521841089
IRS 990 coverage
2012–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024
Location
Spring Valley, NY, USA
Phone
8453521690
Rating
87
Verdict
STRONG
Rating confidence
Moderate

Reported finances

Revenue
$668,707
Expenses
$740,332
Assets
$264,615
Liabilities
$85,802

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

8 people listed

Highest reported compensation

  • SUSAN HOWARD (CO-DIRECTOR): $95,288 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The mission of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association of North America (and of the International Association for Steiner / Waldorf Early Childhood Education, of which it is a member) is to nurture a new cultural impulse for the work with the young child from pre-birth to age seven, based on an understanding of the healthy development of the child in body, soul and spirit, and on a commitment to protect and nurture childhood as the foundation for a truly human culture

What it reported doing in 2024

Some of the activities of the Waldorf Early Childhood Association in recent years include the following: Research into the needs of children from birth to three, including networking with child care providers and the development of a national center for child care, parenting, and birth-to-three workParticipation in international forums for the development of Waldorf early childhood education, including conferences in England, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands and GermanyDevelopment of training programs for early childhood educators and child care providersPublication of a newsletter, Gateways, which appears twice each yearProfessional development retreats for faculty of early childhood teacher training programs and conferences for early childhood educatorsPublication and distribution of study materials for early childhood educators and parentsHosting an international conference for Waldorf early childhood educators from around the worldCollaborating with sister organizations such as the Association for Waldorf Schools of North America (AWSNA) and the International Association for Steiner / Waldorf Early Childhood Education (IASWECE).Advice, mentoring and consulting visits to new Waldorf early childhood initiativeSSupport for social outreach programs working with children at risk such as the Sophia Project in Oakland, CACollaborative research projects: six-year-olds and first-grade readiness, therapeutic needs of the young child, the development of speech and movement in early childhood, and the renewal of Waldorf early childhood educational practice for the new millenniumDevelopment of mentoring and pedagogical advisory services

Operating model

Revenue model
Earned-program. 61% of the money available for current operations came from fees and other program revenue.
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

STRONG - 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 expenses are high relative to revenue.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 93
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 79
  • Sustainability: 19
  • Growth: 100

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 96.6%; rating input score 97
  • Program expense ratio: 83.5%; rating input score 84
  • Fundraising efficiency: $529.6 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 96; 96th 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: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd 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: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: Fail
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -10.7%; rating input score 16; 16th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.36; rating input score 17; 17th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.32; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 12.9%; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 4.3% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: 4.2% per year; rating input score 100; 38th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 50th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 96.6% of revenue deployed · 83.5% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 8 of 8 board members independent · 4 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $618K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $95K · 8 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 4 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 13 filing years from 2012 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 1 filed money-flow record
  • 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: 4 of 8 not reported.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 16/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Total-asset coverage ratio scored 17/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 23/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 28/100.