2013-10-31T09:58:35-05:00 2012-12-31 042571780 ALEXANDER ARONSON FINNING & CO PC 21 EAST MAIN STREET WESTBORO MA 01581 990 2012-01-01 201978102 EDUCATION RESOURCE STRATEGIES INC EDUC 6176078000 480 PLEASANT STREET SUITE C-200 WATERTOWN MA 02472 KAREN H MILES 6176078000 2013-10-31 1 THOMAS WASHBURN CPA P00537319 5083669100 2013-10-31 2012 2016-03-07 17:11:31Z X KAREN H MILES 480 PLEASANT STREET SUITE C-200 WATERTOWN MA 02472 4173680 0 X WWW.ERSTRATEGIES.ORG X 2005 MA ERS IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO TRANSFORM URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS BY HELPING LEADERS STRATEGICALLY USE RESOURCES TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING 5 5 38 0 0 0 2050000 1699998 1332880 2467629 4811 6053 0 0 3387691 4173680 0 0 0 0 2416352 2993588 0 0 91011 1572726 1942873 3989078 4936461 -601387 -762781 6415251 5848843 221060 435595 6194191 5413248 ERS IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION DEDICATED TO TRANSFORM URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS BY HELPING LEADERS STRATEGICALLY USE RESOURCES TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING 0 0 1879527 2021472 CONSULTINGERS' GOAL IS TO CHANGE THE WAY TIME, PEOPLE AND MONEY ARE USED IN URBAN EDUCATION SO THAT ALL STUDENTS RECEIVE THE SUPPORT THEY NEED TO SUCCEED. WE WORK WITH LARGE URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO TRANSFORM THEIR RESOURCE USE TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING. ERS HAS DEVELOPED A VISION FOR HOW SCHOOLS CAN STRATEGICALLY MANAGE THEIR RESOURCES TO SUPPORT STUDENTS, AND HOW SCHOOL SYSTEMS CAN ORGANIZE TO SUPPORT SCHOOLS IN THESE EFFORTS. WE WORK HAND-IN-HAND WITH DISTRICTS TO IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS THAT ENABLE SCHOOL SYSTEMS TO REALIZE THIS TRANSFORMATION. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE BEGUN WORKING WITH STATES AROUND HOW THEY CAN SUPPORT THEIR DISTRICTS IN TRANSFORMATION. 1262986 16157 KNOWLEDGE AND RESEARCHERS IS THE ONLY ORGANIZATION WITH MORE THAN 10 YEARS' EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH THE LARGEST URBAN SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN THE COUNTRY IN THE AREA OF STRATEGIC RESOURCE ALLOCATION. WE HAVE WORKED WITH MORE THAN 20 SCHOOL SYSTEMS NATIONWIDE TO INTRODUCE INNOVATIVE AND EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONS. ERS IS COMMITTED TO DISSEMINATING THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED FROM OUR EXPERIENCE AND RESEARCH BY PROVIDING INFORMATION DIRECTLY TO DISTRICT LEADERS, PARTNERING WITH NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO GET THE WORD OUT, AND CONVENING THOUGHT LEADERS AND PRACTITIONERS. 1065668 430000 TOOLS AND TRAININGERS HAS DEVELOPED A COLLECTION OF RESOURCES AND TOOLS TO AID DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF UNINTENTIONAL 'MISALIGNMENT', WHERE SPENDING PATTERNS DO NOT ACTUALLY SUPPORT STRATEGIC GOALS THAT WILL LEAD TO HIGH PERFORMING SCHOOLS. VARIOUS TOOLS ARE AVAILABLE TO SUPPORT DISTRICT LEADERS IN BOTH GETTING A QUICK OVERVIEW OF RESOURCE ALLOCATION CHALLENGES AND IN CONDUCTING IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS USING ACTUAL DISTRICT AND SCHOOL-LEVEL DATA. SOME ARE AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD FROM THE ERS WEBSITE AT NO COST. 4208181 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 32 0 1 38 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 5 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 MA X X KAREN H MILES 6176078000 480 PLEASANT STREET SUITE C-200 WATERTOWN MA 02472 ELLEN GUINEY 1.00 X 0 0 0 MARCIA BLENKO 1.00 X 0 0 0 WILLIS HAWLEY 1.00 X 0 0 0 URI TREISMAN 1.00 X 0 0 0 PETER GORMAN 1.00 X 0 0 0 KAREN H MILES 32.00 X 157500 0 8000 KAREN BAROODY 16.00 X 83000 0 4275 STEPHEN FRANK 40.00 X 172200 0 9012 REGIS SHIELDS 40.00 X 180092 0 8041 JONATHAN TRAVERS 40.00 X 177442 0 14245 DON HOVEY 40.00 X 167442 0 11712 937676 0 55285 5 0 1 0 VERNDALE CORPORATION 320 CONGRESS STREET BOSTON MA 02210 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT 646251 GREEN RIVER DATA ANALYSIS LLC 167 MAIN STREET SUITE 103 BRATTLEBORO VT 05301 SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT 179115 2 1699998 1699998 DISTRICT REVENUE 611710 2331750 2331750 TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT 611710 103114 103114 OTHER EARNED REVENU 611710 32765 32765 2467629 6053 6053 4173680 2467629 0 6053 252775 209045 36905 6825 2378813 1968264 346433 64116 73414 62589 9472 1353 113807 97024 14686 2097 174779 147298 24298 3183 5530 5530 21027 21027 401177 374494 26683 189743 161719 24529 3495 225764 192475 29129 4160 217441 193485 19412 4544 33914 6976 26938 654650 644748 8664 1238 11606 11606 PRINTING AND POSTAGE 137389 131758 5631 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMEN 40399 17500 22899 BOOKS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS 2745 359 2386 BANK CHARGES AND FEES 945 945 543 447 96 4936461 4208181 637269 91011 1592115 1577552 2638705 1292100 316073 897182 28301 25780 3646790 1628561 1828057 2018229 12000 38000 6415251 5848843 221060 343366 0 92229 221060 435595 X 1584011 2290391 4610180 3122857 6194191 5413248 6415251 5848843 X -762781 -18162 X 0 1 X 0 0 X 865513 3523192 4199208 2057283 1917095 12562291 865513 3523192 4199208 2057283 1917095 12562291 9063122 3499169 24867 22640 9791 45034 2473 104805 12667096 7724522 0.27620 0.32400 X EDUCATION RESOURCE STRATEGIES' PUBLIC SUPPORT IS EXTRAORDINARILY CLOSE (ONLY FIVE PERCENTAGE POINTS BELOW) TO MEETING THE 1/3 PUBLIC SUPPORT TEST FOR DONOR SPONSORED CHARITIES. WE WILL PROVIDE FACTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES JUSTIFICATION BELOW:A. ATTRACTION OF PUBLIC SUPPORT: AS A CONSULTING FIRM ADVISING LARGE URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS, WE MAINTAIN ONGOING CLIENT AND FUNDER DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS TO INITIATE RELATIONSHIPS AND BUILD NEW CONSULTING BUSINESS WITH KEY TARGET DISTRICTS AMONG THE TOP 150 LARGEST URBAN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS, AND TO ATTRACT NEW SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR DOING THAT WORK OR TO SUPPORT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE GROWTH AND OUR COMMUNICATION/DISSEMINATION MISSION. OUR POLICY IN TAKING ON GRANT FUNDED DISTRICT WORK IS THAT THE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT IS THE ULTIMATE CLIENT FOR OUR WORK AND THAT OUR FOCUS IS DEFINED BY DISTRICT PRIORITIES. IN ADDITION, WE ACTIVELY WORK TO MAKE LOCAL FUNDING A COMPONENT OF OUR ENGAGEMENTS, EVEN WHEN LARGE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS MAY BE CONTRIBUTING TO THE WORK. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR INITIAL WORK WITH PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY (MD) AND DENVER (CO) WAS EACH FUNDED 50% BY A GRANT FROM THE BILL AND MELINDA GATES FOUNDATION (GATES) AND 50% FROM DISTRICT OR LOCAL FUNDING. IN ADDITION, WE HAVE FUNDING SUPPORT FROM THE NOYCE FOUNDATION (NOYCE) IN THE FORM OF A CHALLENGE GRANT (SUPPORTING 50% OF AN ENGAGEMENT) FOR DISTRICT STRATEGIC RESOURCE MAPPING WORK THAT ADDS HIGHER PERFORMING DISTRICT EXAMPLES TO OUR CROSS DISTRICT COMPARATIVE DATABASE. OUR FUNDER DEVELOPMENT EFFORTS INCLUDE WORKING WITH DISTRICTS WHERE NEEDED TO HELP DEVELOP ADDITIONAL LOCAL GRANT SOURCES FOR OUR WORK (TYPICALLY LOCAL EDUCATION FUNDS SUPPORTING THE DISTRICTS WE WORK WITH), AS WELL AS ACTIVELY PURSUING A BROADER MIX OF NATIONAL FUNDERS WHO HAVE AN INTEREST IN FUNDING EDUCATION REFORM (E.G. MICHAEL AND SUSAN DELL FOUNDATION, WALLACE FOUNDATION, WALTON FOUNDATION).B. MULTI FACTOR ANALYSIS:1. PERCENTAGE OF FINANCIAL SUPPORT: OUR PUBLIC SUPPORT PERCENTAGE IS 27.6.2. SOURCES OF SUPPORT: OUR LARGEST INDIVIDUAL MULTI-YEAR SUPPORT COMES FROM A PORTFOLIO OF FOUR LARGE PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS, NONE OF WHICH SIGNIFICANTLY OVERSHADOWS THE OTHERS IN FUNDING: GATES ($1.9 MILLION) AND NOYCE ($4.9 MILLION), THE CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK AT $1.9MM AND THE WILLIAM AND FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION AT $1.3MM. THE REMAINDER OF OUR OPERATING BUDGET IS FUNDED THROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICTS THEMSELVES, LOCAL EDUCATION FUNDS OR OTHER PUBLIC CHARITIES, OR SMALLER PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS.3. REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNING BODY: OUR BOARD IS MADE UP OF INDIVIDUALS WITH PARTICULAR KNOWLEDGE OR SKILL RELATING TO EITHER THE FIELD OF PUBLIC EDUCATION OR IN CONSULTING AND HELPING LARGE ORGANIZATIONS TRANSFORM:I. KAREN HAWLEY MILES, PRESIDENTII. MARCIA BLENKO, PARTNER, BAIN & COMPANYIII. ELLEN GUINEY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, BOSTON PLAN FOR EXCELLENCEIV. WILLIS HAWLEY, PROFESSOR EMERITUS, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLANDV. URI TREISMAN, PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CHARLES A. DANA CENTERVI. PETER GORMAN, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF AMPLIFY EDUCATION AND FORMER SUPERINTENDENT OF CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBERG SCHOOLS4. AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC FACILITIES OR SERVICES: A SIGNIFICANT PART OF OUR CORPORATE MISSION IS TO DISSEMINATE THE LEARNING WE GENERATE FROM OUR CONSULTING WORK TO BENEFIT THE LARGER PUBLIC EDUCATION FIELD. TYPICALLY THE LARGE FUNDERS THAT PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT FUNDING TO OUR WORK MAKE BROAD DISSEMINATION A CONDITION OF THE FUNDING. MOST OF OUR WORK IS PUBLICLY AVAILABLE IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER, MAINLY VIA OUR WEBSITE (WWW.ERSTRATEGIES.ORG). IN ADDITION, OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS WE HAVE CONVENED GROUPS OF EXPERTS AND PRACTITIONERS TO FOCUS ON SOLVING DIFFICULT CHALLENGES OF EQUITABLE FUNDING AND SCHOOL TURNAROUND AT SCALE. FINALLY, OUR CONSULTING WORK IS DONE UNDER CONTRACT FOR WHICH WE ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE DELIVERABLES SPECIFIED IN THE CONTRACT. RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 53842 5384 48458 161693 116837 44856 3431255 1506340 1924915 2018229 DEFERRED RENT 92229 92229 X 4173680 0 4173680 0 4173680 4936461 0 4936461 0 4936461 DESCRIPTION OF UNCERTAIN TAX POSITIONS UNDER FIN 48: PART X, LINE 2: THE ORGANIZATION FOLLOWS U.S. GAAP STANDARDS FOR ACCOUNTING FOR UNCERTAINTY IN INCOME TAXES, WHICH REQUIRES THE ORGANIZATION TO REPORT ANY UNCERTAIN TAX POSITIONS AND TO ADJUST ITS COMBINING FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE IMPACT THEREOF. AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2012, THE ORGANIZATION DETERMINED THAT IT HAD NO MATERIAL UNRECOGNIZED TAX BENEFITS TO REPORT. THE ORGANIZATION DOES NOT EXPECT THAT THE AMOUNTS OF UNRECOGNIZED TAX BENEFITS WILL CHANGE SIGNIFICANTLY WITHIN THE NEXT TWELVE MONTHS. THE ORGANIZATION FILES INFORMATIONAL RETURNS IN THE UNITED STATES FEDERAL AND MASSACHUSETTS STATE JURISDICTIONS. THE ORGANIZATION IS NO LONGER SUBJECT TO EXAMINATIONS FOR MASSACHUSETTS STATE OR FOR UNITED STATES FEDERAL RETURNS BEFORE 2009. X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 KAREN H MILES 157500 0 0 0 0 0 8000 0 0 0 165500 0 0 0 STEPHEN FRANK 172200 0 0 0 0 0 8500 0 512 0 181212 0 0 0 REGIS SHIELDS 180092 0 0 0 0 0 5833 0 2208 0 188133 0 0 0 JONATHAN TRAVERS 177442 0 0 0 0 0 8500 0 5745 0 191687 0 0 0 DON HOVEY 167442 0 0 0 0 0 6000 0 5712 0 179154 0 0 0 FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION A, LINE 2 THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S FATHER IS A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION A, LINE 8B THE ORGANIZATION DOES NOT HAVE ANY COMMITTEES WITH AUTHORITY TO ACT ON BEHALF OF THE GOVERNING BODY. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11 THE ORGANIZATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS REVIEWS THE 990 COMPARING IT TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND THE ORGANIZATION'S GENERAL INFORMATION BEFORE IT IS FILED. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C EMPLOYEES AND BOARD MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO DISCLOSE ANY CONFLICTS OF INTEREST ON A PERIODIC BASIS FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15A THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S COMPENSATION IS REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION C, LINE 19 THE ORGANIZATION MAKES ITS GOVERNING DOCUMENTS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC UPON REQUEST. CHANGES IN NET ASSETS OR FUND BALANCES: FORM 990, PART XI, LINE 9: LOSS ON DISPOSAL OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT -18,162.