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PO BOX 5646
Arlington VA 22205-0146
Arlington VA | IRS ruling year: 1968 | EIN: 54-0840089
The primary purpose of Arlington Outdoor Education Association, Inc. is to provide a facility and support a school program designed to give urban children an opportu ... (More)
The primary purpose of Arlington Outdoor Education Association, Inc. is to provide a facility and support a school program designed to give urban children an opportunity to learn (Less)
Good
This charity's score is 87%, earning it a Three-Star rating. If this organization aligns with your passions and values, you can give with confidence.
This overall score is calculated from multiple beacon scores: 85% Accountability & Finance, 10% Leadership & Adaptability, 5% Culture & Community. Learn more about our criteria and methodology.
We recognize that not all metrics and beacons equally predict a charity’s success. The percentage each beacon contributes to the organization’s overall rating depends on the number of beacons an organization has earned.
Use the tool below to select different beacons to see how the weighting shifts when only one, two, or three beacons are earned.
Rating histories are available for a growing number of rated organizations. Check back later to see if this organization has a rating history!
The IRS is significantly delayed in processing nonprofits' annual tax filings (Forms 990). As a result, the Accountability & Finance score for Arlington Outdoor Education Association is outdated and the overall rating may not be representative of its current operations. Please check with the charity directly for any questions you may have.
Arlington Outdoor Education Association has earned a 85% for the Accountability & Finance beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of a charity's financial health (financial efficiency, sustainability, and trustworthiness) and its commitment to governance practices and policies.
This Accountability & Finance score represents IRS Form 990 data up until FY 2019, which is the most recent Form 990 currently available to us.
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Full Credit
Partial Credit
No Credit
Not ApplicableBoard Composition - 10/10 - 35/35 ptsBoard Composition - 10/10 - 35/35 pts
Charity Navigator looks for at least 3 board members, with more than 50% of those members identified as independent (not salaried).
The presence of an independent governing body is strongly recommended by many industry professionals to allow for full deliberation and diversity of thinking on governance and other organizational matters.
Source: IRS Form 990
Independent Audit or Financial Review - N/A - 0/0 ptsIndependent Audit or Financial Review - N/A - 0/0 pts
An Audit, Review, or Compilation provides important information about financial accountability and accuracy. Organizations are scored based on their Total Revenue Amount:
| Total Revenue Amount | Expectation to Receive Credit |
|---|---|
| $1 million or higher | Expected to complete an audit |
| $500,000 - $1 million | Expected to complete an audit, review, or compilation |
| Less than $500,000 | No expectation (removed from scoring methodology) |
Source: IRS Form 990
Conflict of Interest Policy - Missing - 0/5 ptsConflict of Interest Policy - Missing - 0/5 pts
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a conflict of interest policy on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy protects the organization and by extension those it serves, when it is considering entering into a transaction that may benefit the private interest of an officer, director and/or key employee of the organization.
Source: IRS Form 990
Board Meeting Minutes - Documented - 5/5 ptsBoard Meeting Minutes - Documented - 5/5 pts
Charity Navigator looks to confirm on the Form 990 that the organization has this process in place as an accountability and transparency measure.
An official record of the events that take place during a board meeting ensures that a contemporaneous document exists for future reference.
Source: IRS Form 990
Document Retention and Destruction - Missing - 0/5 ptsDocument Retention and Destruction - Missing - 0/5 pts
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a document retention and destruction policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy establishes guidelines for the handling, backing up, archiving and destruction of documents. These guidelines foster good record keeping procedures that promote data integrity.
Source: IRS Form 990
Whistleblower Policy - Missing - 0/5 ptsWhistleblower Policy - Missing - 0/5 pts
Charity Navigator looks for the existence of a whistleblower policy per the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency measure.
This policy outlines procedures for handling employee complaints, as well as a confidential way for employees to report financial or other types of mismanagement.
Source: IRS Form 990
Website - Listed - 5/5 ptsWebsite - Listed - 5/5 pts
Charity Navigator looks for a website on the Form 990 as an accountability and transparency metric.
Nonprofits act in the public trust and reporting publicly on activities is an important component.
Source: IRS Form 990
Full CreditPartial CreditNo CreditNot ApplicableLiabilities to Assets Ratio - 0.14% - 15/15 ptsLiabilities to Assets Ratio - 0.14% - 15/15 pts
The Liabilities to Assets Ratio is determined by Total Liabilities divided by Total Assets (most recent 990). This ratio is an indicator of an organization’s solvency and/or long-term sustainability.
| Liabilities to Assets Ratio | Amount of Credit Received |
|---|---|
| Less than 50% | Full Credit |
| 50% - 59.9% | Partial Credit |
| 60% or more | No Credit |
Source: IRS Form 990
Program Expense Ratio - 80.25% - 25/25 ptsProgram Expense Ratio - 80.25% - 25/25 pts
The Program Expense Ratio is determined by Program Expenses divided by Total Expense (average of most recent three 990s). This measure reflects the percent of its total expenses a charity spends on the programs and services it exists to deliver.
| Program Expense Percentage | Amount of Credit Received |
|---|---|
| 70% or higher | Full Credit |
| 60% - 69.9% | Partial Credit |
| 50% - 59.9% | Zero Points for Program Expense Score |
| Below 50% | Zero Points for Both Program Expense AND Liabilities to Assets Scores |
Source: IRS Form 990
This chart displays the trend of revenue and expenses over the past several years for this organization, as reported on their IRS Form 990.
Presented here are up to five of this organization's highest compensated employees. This compensation data includes salary, cash bonuses, and expense accounts and is displayed exactly how it is reported to the IRS. The amounts do not include nontaxable benefits, deferred compensation, or other amounts not reported on Form W-2. In some cases, these amounts may include compensation from related organizations. Read the IRS policies for compensation reporting
Source: IRS Form 990 (page 7), filing year 2019
Below are some key data points from the Exempt Organization IRS Business Master File (BMF) for this organization. Learn more about the BMF on the IRS website
Activities:
Other school related activities (BMF activity code: 059)
Gifts, grants, or loans to other organizations (BMF activity code: 602)
Foundation Status:
School 170(b)(1)(A)(ii) (BMF foundation code: 11)
Affiliation:
Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations). (BMF affiliation code: 3)
The Form 990 is a document that nonprofit organizations file with the IRS annually. We leverage finance and accountability data from it to form Encompass ratings. Click here to search for this organization's Forms 990 on the IRS website (if any are available). Simply enter the organization's name (Arlington Outdoor Education Association) or EIN (540840089) in the 'Search Term' field.
This organization was impacted by COVID-19 in a way that effected their financial health in 2020. This normally would have reduced their star rating. Due to the unprecedented nature of the pandemic, we give charities such as this one the opportunity to share the story of COVID's impact on them, and doing this pauses our revision of their rating. Charities may submit their own pandemic responses through their nonprofit portal.
Arlington Outdoor Education Association reported being impacted by COVID-19 in the following ways:
Program Delivery
Fundraising Capacity
Revenue
Staffing
Administrative Capacity
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's operations financially:
Our primary driver of donations, events at our facility, were eliminated by COVID; memberships and donations dropped by about 50%.
How COVID-19 impacted the organization's delivery of programs:
None of the normal 9,000 students and their parents visited our facility as all programs were delivered virtually. No summer camps were allowed.
How this organization adapted to changing conditions caused by COVID-19:
Staff offered various virtual programs for students learning online at home. (Both synchronous and asynchronous) Staff also inventoried outdoor education spaces at all schools and offered in-service instruction to classroom teachers in effective outdoor education. We also offered families outdoor experiences to escape the lock down conditions.
Innovations the organization intends to continue permanently after the pandemic:
Classroom teachers will have access to a variety of virtual lessons created during the pandemic for supplemental studies to their in-person visits. A virtual, on-line library will expand the reach of our programs. The training of classroom teachers in outdoor education continues.
Not Currently Scored
Arlington Outdoor Education Association cannot currently be evaluated by our Impact & Results methodology because either (A) it is eligible, but we have not yet received data; (B) we have not yet developed an algorithm to estimate its programmatic impact; (C) its programs are not direct services; or (D) it is not heavily reliant on contributions from individual donors.
Note: The absence of a score does not indicate a positive or negative assessment, it only indicates that we have not yet evaluated the organization.
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Arlington Outdoor Education Association reported its two largest programs on its FY 2019 Form 990 as:
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Outdoor education facility for approximately 9,000 individuals, including 8,500 students.
Spent in most recent FY
Percent of program expenses
Outdoor summer camp for 125 students.
Arlington Outdoor Education Association has earned a 100% for the Culture & Community beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's culture and connectedness to the community it serves.
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Full CreditPartial CreditNo CreditNot ApplicableConstituent Feedback - Data Available - 100/100 ptsConstituent Feedback - Data Available - 100/100 pts
100% of beacon score
This organization reported that it is collecting feedback from the constituents and/or communities it serves. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations that engage in inclusive practices, such as collecting feedback from the people and communities they serve, may be more effective.
Who are the people you serve with your mission? Describe briefly.
The students, families and community members of Arlington, County, Virginia and the broader Northern Virginia and DMV areas.
How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees, Suggestion box/email, Other means
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve
With whom does your organization share the feedback you got from the people you serve?
Our staff, Our board, Our community partners
What challenges does your organization face in collecting feedback from the people you serve?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Briefly describe a recent change that your organization made in response to feedback from the people you serve.
We've adjusted the pricing of our weekend family events to "donate what you can" to make sure cost is not a barrier to participation. We've re-targeted our marketing of events to include a diverse array or participants.
Equity Practices - No Data Available - UnscoredEquity Practices - No Data Available - Unscored
This organization has not provided information regarding the Equity Practices it is presently implementing. As such, the organization has not earned a score on this metric. Charity Navigator believes nonprofit organizations implementing effective equity policies and practices can enhance a nonprofit's decision-making, staff motivation, innovation, and effectiveness.
Arlington Outdoor Education Association has earned a 100% for the Leadership & Adaptability beacon. See the metrics below for more information.
This beacon provides an assessment of the organization's leadership capacity, strategic thinking and planning, and ability to innovate or respond to changes in constituent demand/need or other relevant social and economic conditions to achieve the organization's mission.
Learn more
Full CreditPartial CreditNo CreditNot ApplicableMission - 10/10 ptsMission - 10/10 pts
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization's mission
The Arlington Outdoor Education Association's purpose is: To provide and advocate for enriched educational opportunities for students of Arlington Public Schools in Arlington County, Virginia. • To provide a facility and support a school program designed to give urban children an opportunity to learn math, science, arts, humanities, and vocational skills in a natural setting. • To encourage conservation by preserving a natural area and supporting an instructional program that will give young people a better understanding of nature.
Vision - 10/10 ptsVision - 10/10 pts
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking through articulating the organization’s vision.
All Students will embrace learning in the outdoors and feel empowered to tackle their communities' issues.
Source: Nonprofit submitted responses
Goals - 20/20 ptsGoals - 20/20 pts
The nonprofit organization presents evidence of strategic thinking and goal setting through sharing their most important strategic goals.
Goal One: Position the Outdoor Lab as the center for hands-on outdoor and STEAM education.
Goal Type: Focus on core programs to achieve mission and scale back on programs not seen as core.
Goal Two: Conserve and protect natural resources, including habitat, water resources, and native plants and wildlife.
Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.
Goal Three: Improve Association organization and processes to create a diverse, fiscally sound, engaging organization to support our mission, vision & goals.
Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).
Leadership Development - 15/15 ptsLeadership Development - 15/15 pts
The nonprofit provides evidence of investment in leadership development
The AOEA board identified a need for investing in our understanding of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. We started a program that kicked off with online training of all Board members in core principles and began working with partners on improving access and diversity on our programs and volunteer corps.
Mobilizing for Mission - 15/15 ptsMobilizing for Mission - 15/15 pts
The nonprofit provides evidence of leadership through focusing externally and mobilizing resources for the mission.
Strategic Partnerships
Networks of Collective Impact Efforts
Raising Awareness
Policy Advocacy
In addition to raising awareness of our mission through marketing and social media, we've partnered with other like-minded, local groups to leverage our staff's outdoor education expertise, to help each local school we serve identify outdoor education spaces and train classroom teachers in effective ways to use such spaces for all classes and subjects. We also partner with other community groups who need larger outdoor spaces for retreats and executive meetings in a unique, enriching setting.
Adaptability Story - 30/30 ptsAdaptability Story - 30/30 pts
The nonprofit has an opportunity to tell the story of how the organization adapted to tremendous external changes in the last year.
The AOEA quickly shifted with the community to online, virtual engagement activities with the onset of the pandemic. We reimagined the use of our facility by welcoming families or "pods" for in-person visits that took advantage of our naturally socially-distant facility. We improved delivery of virtual, online lessons for students which continues to offer enhanced learning opportunities in addition to in-person, student field trips.
Impact & Results
Accountability & Finance
Culture & Community
Leadership & Adaptability
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