Skip to content
ProPublica Donate
ProPublica Donate

Arkansas Early Learning Inc

Organization summary

Type of Nonprofit

Designated as a Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition (as long as it doesn't provide athletic facilities or equipment), or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.

Category: Human Services — Multipurpose and Other / Human Service Organizations - Multipurpose (NTEE)

Donations to this organization are tax deductible.

Summary charts: organization finances over time

Revenue
$17.6M (2022)

Expenses
$18.1M (2022)

Total Assets
$27.6M (2022)

Total Liabilities
$16.4M (2022)

Source: Form 990 tax filings from 2013 to 2022

Tax Filings and Audits by Year

Form 990 is an information return that most organizations claiming federal tax-exempt status must file yearly with the IRS. Nonprofit Explorer has IRS digitized Form 990 data for filings processed in 2012 and later. If this organization filed an amended return, it may not be reflected below. Duplicate download links may indicate a resubmission or amendment to this organization's original return. Form 990 data is from the IRS.

Audits are required to be submitted by nonprofit organizations that spend $750,000 or more in federal grant money in a fiscal year. "Single audits" look at the entire organization's finances and compliance, while other audits are program specific. Nonprofit Explorer has PDFs of audits for some nonprofits for fiscal year 2015 and later. Audit data is from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2023

No Extracted Financial Data

Form 990 documents are not available for this tax period, but audit documents are available for download.

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2022

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$17,564,485
Expenses
$18,129,313
Net Income
-$564,828
Net Assets
$11,118,997
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $17,553,041
99.9%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $4,455
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $2,445
0.0%
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $4,544
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $399,547
2.2%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $6,609,291
36.5%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $27,561,115
Total Liabilities $16,442,118
Net Assets $11,118,997
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $161,704 $0 $0
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $148,358 $0 $0
Angela George (Regional Program Director) $127,325 $0 $0
Lisa Owens (Regional Program Director) $118,074 $0 $0
Kim Qualls (Grants Director) $116,090 $0 $0
Gregory Leone (Fiscal Officer) $104,104 $0 $0
Robin Thomas (Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Joanna Grimes (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Anita Farley (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Kathy Flemming (Pc Liaison) $0 $0 $0
Garland Watlington (Consultant) $0 $0 $0
Vicki Buck (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Whitney Carter (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Anarella Cellitti (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Derrick Dixon (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Candace Evans (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Lillie Fears (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Chelsey Henson (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Megan Hewitt (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Caitlin Knight (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Calvin Pepper (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Gina Staudacher (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Anthony Todero (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2021

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$17,680,686
Expenses
$17,986,369
Net Income
-$305,683
Net Assets
$11,683,825
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $17,679,756
100.0%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $857
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $73
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $0
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $6,562,298
36.5%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $12,519,715
Total Liabilities $835,890
Net Assets $11,683,825
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $145,300 $0 $5,976
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $139,224 $0 $4,463
Angela George (Regional Program Director) $108,076 $0 $0
Lisa Owens (Regional Program Director) $108,076 $0 $3,016
Kim Qualls (Grants Director) $108,076 $0 $3,016
Gregory Leone (Fiscal Officer) $71,059 $0 $3,729
Dr Lillie Fears (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Anita Hulbert (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Dr Joanna Grimes (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Cj Pepper (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Vicki Buck (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robin Thomas (Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Kathy Flemming (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Chelsey Henson (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2020

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$22,239,022
Expenses
$21,820,323
Net Income
$418,699
Net Assets
$11,989,508
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $22,236,960
100.0%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $777
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $1,200
0.0%
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $85
0.0%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $444,005
2.0%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $6,752,291
30.9%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $13,174,956
Total Liabilities $1,185,448
Net Assets $11,989,508
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $174,195 $0 $22,974
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $168,379 $0 $22,974
Myra Wood (Fiscal Officer) $101,430 $0 $14,704
Dr Lillie Fears (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Anita Hulbert (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Joanna Grimes (Secretary) $0 $0 $0
Cj Pepper (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Vicki Buck (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Robin Thomas (Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Caitlin Knight (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Christina Hernandez (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Leone (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Marsha Rhodes (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Scott Willhite (Board Member) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2019

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$20,723,858
Expenses
$17,273,872
Net Income
$3,449,986
Net Assets
$11,570,809
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $20,830,724
> 100%
Program Services $936
0.0%
Investment Income $250
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets -$140,047
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $31,995
0.2%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $382,230
2.2%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $5,887,085
34.1%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $12,905,363
Total Liabilities $1,334,554
Net Assets $11,570,809
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $144,301 $0 $2,656
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $135,587 $0 $14,203
Myra Wood (Fiscal Officer) $80,161 $0 $5,322
Dr Lillie Fears Ph D (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Christina Hernandez (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Caitlin Knight (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Dianne Lawler (Board Member (Thru Feb)) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Leone (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Calvin E Pepper Jr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Malorie Raulerson (Board Member (Thru May)) $0 $0 $0
Marsha Rhodes (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dean Whittle (Board Member (Thru Oct)) $0 $0 $0
Robin Thomas (Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Vicki Buck (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Jane Ayers (Secretary (Thru Nov)) $0 $0 $0
Dr Joanna Grymes (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2018

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$13,999,347
Expenses
$14,320,925
Net Income
-$321,578
Net Assets
$8,120,823
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $13,894,826
99.3%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $469
0.0%
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets -$2,671
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $106,723
0.8%
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $353,721
2.5%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $5,750,866
40.2%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $8,670,116
Total Liabilities $549,293
Net Assets $8,120,823
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $132,158 $0 $5,371
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $122,647 $0 $14,882
Myra Wood (Fiscal Officer) $73,762 $0 $4,901
Vicki Buck (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Kathryn Flannigan (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Joanna Grymes (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Christina Hernandez (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Dianne Lawler (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Gregory Leone (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Calvin E Pepper Jr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Malorie Raulerson (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dean Whittle (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robin Thomas (Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Lillie Fears Ph D (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Jane Ayers (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2017

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$14,652,348
Expenses
$15,230,929
Net Income
-$578,581
Net Assets
$8,442,401
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $15,391,586
> 100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets -$739,238
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $369,973
2.4%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $5,619,100
36.9%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $9,322,718
Total Liabilities $880,317
Net Assets $8,442,401
Other
Reported conflict of interest transactions
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $131,322 $0 $507
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $130,628 $0 $507
Myra Wood (Fiscal Officer (Beginning June)) $64,222 $0 $3,818
Philip Woods (Fiscal Officer (Thru June)) $37,179 $0 $1,788
Dr Jane Ayers (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Vicki Buck (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Kathryn Flannigan (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Joanna Grymes (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Christina Hernandez (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jason Marshall (Board Member (Thru February)) $0 $0 $0
Calvin E Pepper Jr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robin Thomas (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dean Whittle (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Lillie Fears Ph D (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Dianne Lawler (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2016

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$15,416,707
Expenses
$12,511,468
Net Income
$2,905,239
Net Assets
$9,020,982
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $15,531,707
> 100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets -$115,000
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $358,135
2.9%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $5,436,864
43.5%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $9,371,606
Total Liabilities $350,624
Net Assets $9,020,982
Other
Reported conflict of interest transactions
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $129,982 $0 $10,795
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $120,193 $0 $14,161
Philip Woods (Fiscal Officer) $72,813 $0 $10,191
Dr Jane Ayers (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Vicki Buck (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Kathryn Flannigan (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Joanna Grymes (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Christina Hernandez (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jason Marshall (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Calvin E Pepper Jr (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robin Thomas (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dean Whittle (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jared White (Chairperson (Thru April)) $0 $0 $0
Dr Lillie Fears Ph D (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Dianne Lawler (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2015

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$11,659,535
Expenses
$9,779,721
Net Income
$1,879,814
Net Assets
$6,115,743
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $11,659,535
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $417,306
4.3%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $4,393,787
44.9%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $7,188,955
Total Liabilities $1,073,212
Net Assets $6,115,743
Other
Reported conflict of interest transactions
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $128,284 $0 $10,752
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $117,357 $0 $14,049
Julia Springer (Fiscal Officer (Through September)) $74,603 $0 $4,408
Philip Woods (Fiscal Officer (Beginning October)) $58,891 $0 $8,962
Dr Jane Ayers (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Vicki Buck (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Kathryn Flannigan (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Joanna Grymes (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Christina Hernandez (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jonathan Mc Nair (Board Member (Through July)) $0 $0 $0
Chad Oldham (Board Member (Through June)) $0 $0 $0
Joey Seibert (Board Member (Through June)) $0 $0 $0
Robin Thomas (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Garland Watlington (Board Member (Through May)) $0 $0 $0
Dean Whittle (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jared White (Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Lillie Fears Ph D (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Dianne Lawler (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2014

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$7,677,279
Expenses
$7,691,875
Net Income
-$14,596
Net Assets
$4,235,929
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $7,677,279
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $316,107
4.1%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $3,640,120
47.3%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $5,324,370
Total Liabilities $1,088,441
Net Assets $4,235,929
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $103,171 $0 $21,666
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $96,971 $0 $21,666
Julia Springer (Fiscal Officer) $59,725 $0 $12,908
Dr Jane Ayers (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Vicki Buck (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Kathryn Flannigan (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Joanna Grymes (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jonathan Mcnair (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Chad Oldham (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Keisha Robertson Evans (Board Member (Thru May)) $0 $0 $0
Joey Siebert (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Robin Thomas (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Garland Watlington (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jared White (Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Lillie Fears Ph D (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Dr Dianne Lawler (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

Fiscal Year Ending Dec.
2013

Extracted Financial Data

Extracted Financial Data from Form 990
Revenue
$7,965,778
Expenses
$3,715,453
Net Income
$4,250,325
Net Assets
$4,250,525
Notable Sources of Revenue Percent of Total Revenue
Contributions $7,965,778
100%
Program Services $0
Investment Income $0
Bond Proceeds $0
Royalties $0
Rental Property Income $0
Net Fundraising $0
Sales of Assets $0
Net Inventory Sales $0
Other Revenue $0
Notable Expenses Percent of Total Expenses
Executive Compensation $151,616
4.1%
Professional Fundraising Fees $0
Other Salaries and Wages $1,722,409
46.4%
Assets/Debt
Total Assets $4,966,666
Total Liabilities $716,141
Net Assets $4,250,525
Compensation
Key Employees and Officers Compensation Related Other
Nelson Walter (Chief Executive Officer) $52,640 $0 $11,054
Michael Patterson (Chief Information Officer) $52,193 $0 $11,054
Julia Springer (Fiscal Officer) $20,300 $0 $4,375
Dr Jane Ayers (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Vicki Buck (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Dr Lillie Fears Ph D (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jonathan Mcnair (Board Member) $0 $0 $0
Jared White (Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Keisha Robertson Evans (Vice Chairperson) $0 $0 $0
Garland Watlington (Secretary) $0 $0 $0

Document Links

About This Data

Nonprofit Explorer includes summary data for nonprofit tax returns and full Form 990 documents, in both PDF and digital formats.

The summary data contains information processed by the IRS during the 2012-2019 calendar years; this generally consists of filings for the 2011-2018 fiscal years, but may include older records. This data release includes only a subset of what can be found in the full Form 990s.

In addition to the raw summary data, we link to PDFs and digital copies of full Form 990 documents wherever possible. This consists of separate releases by the IRS of Form 990 documents processed by the agency, which we update regularly.

We also link to copies of audits nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year since 2016. These audits are copied from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse.

Which Organizations Are Here?

Every organization that has been recognized as tax exempt by the IRS has to file Form 990 every year, unless they make less than $200,000 in revenue and have less than $500,000 in assets, in which case they have to file form 990-EZ. Organizations making less than $50,000 don’t have to file either form but do have to let the IRS they’re still in business via a Form 990N "e-Postcard."

Nonprofit Explorer has organizations claiming tax exemption in each of the 27 subsections of the 501(c) section of the tax code, and which have filed a Form 990, Form 990EZ or Form 990PF. Taxable trusts and private foundations that are required to file a form 990PF are also included. Small organizations filing a Form 990N "e-Postcard" are not included in this data.

Types of Nonprofits

There are 27 nonprofit designations based on the numbered subsections of section 501(c) of the tax code. See the list »

Get the Data

For those interested in acquiring the original data from the source, here’s where our data comes from:

  • Raw filing data. Includes EINs and summary financials as structured data.
  • Exempt Organization profiles. Includes organization names, addresses, etc. You can merge this with the raw filing data using EIN numbers.
  • Form 990 documents. Prior to 2017, these documents were obtained and processed by Public.Resource.org and ProPublica. Bulk PDF downloads since 2017 are available from the IRS.
  • Form 990 documents as XML files. Includes complete filing data (financial details, names of officers, tax schedules, etc.) in machine-readable format. Only available for electronically filed documents. Electronic data released prior to October 2021 is also available through Amazon Web Services.
  • Audits. PDFs of single or program-specific audits for nonprofit organizations that spent $750,000 or more in Federal grant money in a single fiscal year. Available for fiscal year 2015 and later.

API

The data powering this website is available programmatically, via an API. Read the API documentation »