PLATINUM2024

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY LITERACY COUNCIL INC

Each one, teach one.

aka AACLC   |   Edgewater, MD   |  www.icanread.org

Mission

AACLC provides free and individualized literacy, math, GED, and ESL instruction for interested low-income adults and out-of-school youth in Anne Arundel County. Instruction can occur in any public location and at convenient days and times for each student's schedule.

Ruling year info

1987

Executive Director

Ms. Jane Seiss

Main address

P.O. Box 1303

Edgewater, MD 21037 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

52-1479101

NTEE code info

Adult, Continuing Education (B60)

Secondary/High School (B25)

Employment, Job Related N.E.C. (J99)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Low-income adults in Anne Arundel (AA) County, MD are struggling to support their families financially and benefit from increased literacy/math skills to improve their job prospects. According to "The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Maryland 2016" an AA County household would have to make $75,000/year to cover basic needs - food, housing, childcare, healthcare, and other services - to support 1 adult, 1 preschooler, and a child in grade school in Anne Arundel (AA) County. In 2001, the figure was $40,000. To illustrate the financial struggles facing many AA families, median household income for Annapolis in 2013 was $38,980 for blacks and $45,342 for Asians. Maryland GED Testing Service also reports that 600 Anne Arundel County youth permanently drop out of school each year, placing these individuals at high risk for future unemployment and poverty. AACLC addresses this need by offering free, convenient, and individualized literacy, math, and GED instruction for adults.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Anne Arundel County Literacy Council

AACLC provides free reading, writing, math, GED, and ESL instruction for interested low-income adult residents of Anne Arundel County, MD. AACLC served more than 200 students in 2020.

Population(s) Served
Adults

Where we work

Our results

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.

Number of adults who received literacy services

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults

Related Program

Anne Arundel County Literacy Council

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Adults and out-of-school youth age 17 and older. This metric does not include the people we help at two detention centers in our county. We do not track those students individually.

Total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults

Related Program

Anne Arundel County Literacy Council

Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

Because of the pandemic and a partial shutdown of services in the spring of 2020, our total number of volunteer hours dropped a little in 2020, but it began to rise again in 2021.

Number of teachers trained

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Adults

Related Program

Anne Arundel County Literacy Council

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Increasing

Context Notes

Volunteer tutors receive an initial 8 hours of instruction and a 2-hour follow-up session, and ongoing quarterly workshops and mentoring opportunities. We're still recovering from the pandemic.

Number of adult learners enrolled

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Social and economic status

Related Program

Anne Arundel County Literacy Council

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

203 does not include the adults we help at local detention centers. We don't track them individually, but it is fair to say we helped at least 15 inmates in 2023.

Number of adults who advance a full literacy level

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Population(s) Served

Ethnic and racial groups, Adults, Economically disadvantaged people, Immigrants and migrants, Incarcerated people

Type of Metric

Input - describing resources we use

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Context Notes

This metric includes 24 students who advanced a level in our curriculum, plus 6 who graduated our program because they earned a high school diploma.

Number of students who demonstrate improved overall literacy

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Anne Arundel County Literacy Council

Type of Metric

Output - describing our activities and reach

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Number of students who got a job or a better job.

This metric is no longer tracked.
Totals By Year
Related Program

Anne Arundel County Literacy Council

Type of Metric

Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues

Direction of Success

Holding steady

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

Our goal is to transform lives through the doorway of literacy. We do this by providing free, convenient and individualized literacy, math and English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) instruction for interested low-income adults and out-of-school youth in Anne Arundel County desiring to improve their literacy skills. There is no charge for the books, tutoring, or assessments received, and students/tutors can meet in any public location in Anne Arundel County for instruction.

Trained volunteer tutors meet weekly with their students at local libraries and community agencies, at convenient times for both the student and tutor. Lessons are tailored to incorporate the students reading level, personal goals, and interests, and there is no cost to the student for the assessment, books, or tutoring. It is estimated that 14% of Anne Arundel County adults do not have the basic literacy skills needed to obtain a GED, so the need is great for this free, convenient literacy program.

We believe that a strong infrastructure of tutor training, continuing educational opportunities, and ongoing tutor support is required to fully equip our volunteer tutors to achieve maximum effectiveness in improving adult literacy skills in our community. To accomplish this we have established key support positions and filled them with well-trained and dedicated individuals. These positions include tutor, student, tutor training, and assessor coordinators.

We also have a database management team who collects, enters, manages, and analyzes data on program measures and outcomes. This data is captured in our database, allowing us to celebrate student progress and achievements, while also identifying areas where program improvements are needed. This also allows us to document program effectiveness for donors and the community.

Literacy, math, and English as a Second Language volunteer tutors are recruited throughout Anne Arundel County. Volunteer literacy tutor training is 12 hours long and includes literacy and English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction. Upon completion of the tutor training, volunteers are eligible to take additional assessor training.

Mentoring opportunities and quarterly tutor workshops led by educational experts are available to interested tutors throughout the year. Math tutor training and workshop opportunities are scheduled throughout the year to instruct and support math tutors.

There is a strong tutor/student support team consisting of the following: tutor, student, and assessor coordinators, a tutor training coordinator and 8 math/literacy/ and ESL trainers, a database manager with 6 support members, a volunteer manager, and a director. Our Executive Board Program Chair is an educator with 22 years of teaching and administrative/testing experience.

The Literacy Council's annual tutor/student matches have grown from 27 in 2011 to 137 in 2020, and ESL and math tutoring is now offered in addition to literacy tutoring. Substantial improvements in tutor training and ongoing tutor support have occurred during this time, as well as completion of the design, implementation, and improvement of the organization's database.

Highly skilled GED math coordinators oversee more than 60 trained math tutors, and tutor and student coordinators provide skilled support for our students and tutors. Ongoing math, literacy, and ESL workshops are provided for continuing tutor support and education.

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.
  • 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 strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback

Financials

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY LITERACY COUNCIL INC
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

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Build relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.

  • Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
  • Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
  • Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations

Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY LITERACY COUNCIL INC

Board of directors
as of 03/21/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board co-chair

Dr. Carol Tacket


Board co-chair

Dr. Michael Keller

Carol Tacket

Michael Keller

Megan Jackson

Michael Green

John Wetzel

Mike Ahearn

Mary Austin

Beverly Sumpter

Catie Comer

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • Ethics and transparency
    Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes
  • Board composition
    Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 3/21/2024

Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.

Leadership

The organization's leader identifies as:

Race & ethnicity
White/Caucasian/European
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

No data

Equity strategies

Last updated: 05/17/2023

GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more

Data
  • We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
  • We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
  • We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
  • We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
  • We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
Policies and processes
  • We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
  • We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
  • We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
  • We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.