| PART III, LINE 1 |
WILDFLOWER SEEKS TO RADICALLY INCREASE THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN FROM A VARIETY OF ECONOMIC BACKGROUNDS BENEFITING FROM HIGH-QUALITY EARLY LEARNING EXPERIENCES. WE'VE DEVELOPED A SCALABLE PLATFORM FOR TEACHERS TO START AND LEAD THEIR OWN TINY MONTESSORI SCHOOLS WITHIN A NETWORK OF SUPPORT AND MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY. OUR SCHOOLS USE TIME-TESTED, RESEARCH-SUPPORTED MONTESSORI METHODS IN ONE ROOM, NEIGHBORHOOD-NESTED SCHOOLS COMBINED WITH PROMISING NEW IDEAS IN PARENT ENGAGEMENT, INTENTIONAL DIVERSITY, TEACHER EMPOWERMENT, AND DATA-DRIVEN INSTRUCTION. OUR SCHOOLS GROW ORGANICALLY IN DIVERSE SETTINGS. THE WILDFLOWER FOUNDATION EXISTS TO SUPPORT THE STARTUP AND ONGOING OPERATION OF WILDFLOWER SCHOOLS. WE OPERATE AS A DECENTRALIZED NETWORK. KEY ACTIVITIES INCLUDE: > ENGAGING WITH NEW TEACHERS INTERESTED IN STARTING WILDFLOWER SCHOOLS; > PROVIDING SCHOOL STARTUP GRANTS AND LOW-INTEREST, UNSECURED LOANS; > COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITY LEADERS INTERESTED IN BRINGING WILDFLOWER TO THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THAT; > FOSTERING A NETWORK OF SUPPORT WITH ACCOUNTABILITY; > DEVELOPING SOFTWARE & SERVICES TO SIMPLIFY SCHOOL STARTUP AND ADMINISTRATION AND ALLOW ACCESS TO PUBLIC FUNDING - FINANCIAL TOOLS, GROUP IRS EXEMPTIONS, MARKETING TOOLKITS, REAL ESTATE NEGOTIATION AND CONSTRUCTION SUPPORT AND MORE; > R&D OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES TO INTEGRATE DATA-DRIVEN PRACTICES IN THE CHILD-CENTERED ENVIRONMENT. SINCE INCEPTION, WE HAVE GROWN FROM ONE SCHOOL SERVING APPROXIMATELY 12 CHILDREN IN CAMBRIDGE TO SERVING 1,200+ STUDENTS IN 59 SCHOOLS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS: CALIFORNIA, COLORADO, FLORIDA, INDIANA, KENTUCKY, MASSACHUSETTS, MINNESOTA, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, NORTH CAROLINA, OHIO, PENNSLYVANIA, RHODE ISLAND, VIRGINIA, PUERTO RICO, AND WASHINGTON D.C. 64% OF OUR STUDENTS IDENTIFY AS BLACK, INDIGENOUS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR, AND 43% ARE GROWING UP IN HOUSEHOLDS THAT EARN LOW INCOMES, ACCORDING TO HUD, WHILE 26% SPEAK A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH AS THEIR FIRST LANGUAGE. ACROSS OUR NETWORK, WE'RE SEEING RESULTS. OUR DATA SHOWS WILDFLOWER SCHOOLS TO BE SPECIAL PLACES FOR TEACHERS, FAMILIES, AND CHILDREN. OUR ANNUAL TEACHER RETENTION RATE IS 90%, VS. A TYPICAL 70% IN EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTERS AND ALSO REMARKABLE GIVEN THAT OUR TEACHERS ARE STARTING THEIR OWN MICRO-SCHOOLS. FAMILIES LOVE THEIR TEACHERS AND SCHOOLS. OUR FAMILY NET PROMOTER SCORE IS 83, WHICH IS CONSIDERED "WORLD CLASS." |
| FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 11B |
THE FINAL 990 WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE BOARD FOR REVIEW AND APPROVAL PRIOR TO FILING. |
| FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 12C |
THE WILDFLOWER FOUNDATION HAS A CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY IN PLACE TO HELP WITH ANY ISSUES THAT MAY ARISE WHERE A BOARD MEMBER ENTERS INTO A CONTRACT OR TRANSACTION BETWEEN THE FOUNDATION AND AN ORGANIZATION THAT WILL CAUSE A CONFLICT WITH THE BOARD MEMBERS FINANCIAL INTEREST. THE MATERIAL FACTS OF THIS CONTRACT MUST BE FULLY DISCLOSED OR KNOWN TO THE OTHER BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRIOR TO APPROVAL OF SAID CONTRACT OR TRANSACTION, AND THE INTERESTED BOARD MEMBER MAY NOT BE PRESENT DURING THE VOTE. THE MONITORING OF THIS POLICY IS CURRENTLY ONGOING. THE POLICY IS REVISITED WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ONCE A YEAR. |
| FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION B, LINE 15A |
THE NON-CONFLICTED MEMBERS OF THE FOUNDATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVED THE COMPENSATION OF MATTHEW KRAMER, THE FOUNDATION'S CEO WITH MR. KRAMER, WHO WAS ALSO A DIRECTOR OF THE FOUNDATION, ABSTAINING FROM THE APPROVAL DUE TO HIS CONFLICT OF INTEREST. THE FOUNDATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS APPROVED THE COMPENSATION BY MEETING THE "REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION OF COMPENSATION" SAFE HARBOR WHICH REQUIRED THAT NON-CONFLICTED MEMBERS OF THE BOARD APPROVE THE COMPENSATION. PROCESS FOR DETERMINING CEO COMPENSATION INCLUDED ASSESSING PERFORMANCE AGAINST GOALS AND EXPECTATIONS, REVIEWING THE RELATIVE COMPETITIVE POSITION WITHIN THE MARKET AND THE INDUSTRY UTILIZING EXTERNAL SOURCES AND BASED ON THIS INFORMATION, ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE AS NEEDED. |
| FORM 990, PART VI, SECTION C, LINE 19 |
FORM 990, AS WELL AS GOVERNING DOCUMENTS, DOCUMENT RETENTION POLICY, ETC. ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. |
| FORM 990, PART IX, LINE 11G |
CONTRACTORS: PROGRAM SERVICE EXPENSES 1,278,846. MANAGEMENT AND GENERAL EXPENSES 19,985. FUNDRAISING EXPENSES 40,241. TOTAL EXPENSES 1,339,072. |
Attach to Form 990 or 990-EZ.