Seeds of Literacy
EIN: 20-0884284
as of September 2024
as of September 09, 2024
Mission
Seeds of Literacy is an award-winning, personalized education adult literacy program offering free, 1-to-1 tutoring in basic ed and GED test prep to nearly 1,500 adults annually with the help of more than 200 volunteer tutors. With a primary focus in Cleveland, OH at 2 brick-and-mortar locations, Seeds also serves residents of Ohio via the Virtual Classroom. 88% of our students live at or below federal poverty guidelines. Adult literacy education is is the first step to economic self-sufficiency, better employment, better health, and the academic success of children. Seeds is the only nationally accredited literacy program in Ohio.
Ruling year
2005
President and CEO
Ms. Bonnie Entler
Main address
3104 W. 25th Street 3rd Floor
Cleveland, OH 44109 USA
EIN
20-0884284
Education
Population served
Adults
NTEE code
Adult, Continuing Education (B60)
IRS subsection
501(c)(3) Public Charity
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Tax forms
Communication
Affiliations
Programs and results
Reports and documents
Download annual reportsWhat we aim to solve
Seeds aims to battle illiteracy and functional illiteracy among adults in Cleveland and beyond.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Seeds of Literacy
66% of adults in Cleveland are functionally illiterate, struggling with navigating daily life. They may struggle to advance ore even qualify for gainful employment. This affects multiple generations, as they are also unable to help children with schoolwork. Recognizing that it is NEVER too late to graduate, Seeds of Literacy offers individualized GED and basic adult education through one-to-one tutoring. The award-winning program annually serves nearly 1,000 adults. Students range in age from 18 – 80s, but most are in their 30s and 40s, having been out of school 20+ years. Because traditional classroom models failed them, “classes” at Seeds are really individual tutoring 4 days a week, 3 times a day. Our Virtual Classroom uses Zoom breakout rooms. Seeds relies on 200+ volunteer tutors to make the program successful. Our program is 100% FREE for students, and relies on community support to help make a difference in the lives of adult learners.
Where we work
Awards
National Tutor of the Year Award 2008
Dollar General Foundation/ProLiteracy America
Outstanding Agency of the Year Award 2008
RSVP of Greater Cleveland
Volunteer of the Year Award 2008
Cleveland Reads
National Student of the Year Award 2012
Dollar General Literacy Foundation
Oustanding Nonprofit Service Award 2013
Anisfield-Wolf
Richard Aldine Award for Nonprofit Excellence 2014
Court Community Service
Nonproft Best Practice - Volunteers 2014
Governor Kasich's Office of Faith Based and Community Initiatives
State Administrator of the Year 2015
Ohio Association of Adult and Continuing Education
Support Staff of the Year 2022
Ohio Association of Adult and Continuing Education
Most Treasured Volunteer 2021
The Center for Community Solutions
Instructor of the Year Award 2021
Ohio Association of Adult and Continuing Education
Administrator of the Year 2021
Ohio Association of Adult and Continuing Education
Best Practices Award 2021
Library of Congress
Ruth J. Colvin & Frank Laubach Award for Adult Learner Excellence 2021
Proliteracy
Award for Program Innovation and Collaboration 2021
Proliteracy
Most Treasured Volunteer Award 2020
The Center for Community Solutions
Local Excellence in Advocacy 2020
Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE)
Nonprofit Leadership Award from the Alumni Association 2019
Case Western Reserve University
Women In Education AWard 2019
Crain's Cleveland Business
Hero Award 2018
Proliteracy
Philanthropy Tank Winner Runner Up 2016
African-American Philathropy Summit
National Learner of the Year 2016
Coalition on Adult Basic Education
Ohio Success Award 2024
Ohio Business Magazine
Notable Nonprofit Board Leader 2024
Crain's Cleveland Business
Instructor of the Year 2023
OAACE
Support Staff of the Year 2023
OAACE
NE Region Outstanding Educator of the Year 2023
State of Ohio
NE Region Outstanding Adult Students of the Year 2023
State of Ohio
Notables in Education Leadersip 2023
Crain's Cleveland Business
Social Impact Women to Watch 2023
Nonprofit HR
Affiliations & memberships
ProLiteracy America 2002 - current 2002
Coalition on Adult Basic Education (COABE) - current 2002
Ohio Association for Adult and Continuing Education (OAACE) - current 2002
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of educators who have opportunities to attend programs offered by professional organizations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Seeds of Literacy
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
All of our program staff have the opportunity to attend regional and national adult education conferences. Each year, at least 2 present at these same conferences as leaders in the field.
Financials
Financial documents
Download audited financialsRevenue vs. expenses: breakdown
Liquidity in 2023 info
10.78
Months of cash in 2023 info
6
Fringe rate in 2023 info
18%
Funding sources info
Assets & liabilities info
Financial data
Seeds of Literacy
Balance sheetFiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
The balance sheet gives a snapshot of the financial health of an organization at a particular point in time. An organization's total assets should generally exceed its total liabilities, or it cannot survive long, but the types of assets and liabilities must also be considered. For instance, an organization's current assets (cash, receivables, securities, etc.) should be sufficient to cover its current liabilities (payables, deferred revenue, current year loan, and note payments). Otherwise, the organization may face solvency problems. On the other hand, an organization whose cash and equivalents greatly exceed its current liabilities might not be putting its money to best use.
Fiscal Year: Jul 01 - Jun 30
This snapshot of Seeds of Literacy’s financial trends applies Nonprofit Finance Fund® analysis to data hosted by GuideStar. While it highlights the data that matter most, remember that context is key – numbers only tell part of any story.
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Business model indicators
| Profitability info | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) before depreciation | $67,054 | $27,947 | $259,943 | $129,328 | $19,729 |
| As % of expenses | 6.3% | 2.7% | 28.4% | 9.5% | 1.2% |
| Unrestricted surplus (deficit) after depreciation | $55,334 | $14,732 | $243,205 | $108,490 | -$4,273 |
| As % of expenses | 5.2% | 1.4% | 26.1% | 7.8% | -0.2% |
| Revenue composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total revenue (unrestricted & restricted) | $1,078,856 | $1,160,345 | $1,212,244 | $1,388,212 | $1,723,837 |
| Total revenue, % change over prior year | -10.7% | 7.6% | 4.5% | 14.5% | 24.2% |
| Program services revenue | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Membership dues | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Investment income | 0.2% | 0.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Government grants | 0.0% | 0.0% | 11.2% | 9.8% | 26.4% |
| All other grants and contributions | 99.6% | 99.6% | 88.8% | 90.1% | 73.2% |
| Other revenue | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.4% |
| Expense composition info | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses before depreciation | $1,056,335 | $1,044,944 | $914,510 | $1,365,430 | $1,700,283 |
| Total expenses, % change over prior year | 3.3% | -1.1% | -12.5% | 49.3% | 24.5% |
| Personnel | 71.0% | 71.1% | 65.8% | 74.9% | 76.2% |
| Professional fees | 2.1% | 4.9% | 3.2% | 1.8% | 2.5% |
| Occupancy | 9.7% | 9.6% | 10.4% | 7.1% | 5.7% |
| Interest | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Pass-through | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| All other expenses | 17.2% | 14.4% | 20.6% | 16.1% | 15.7% |
| Full cost components (estimated) info | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses (after depreciation) | $1,068,055 | $1,058,159 | $931,248 | $1,386,268 | $1,724,285 |
| One month of savings | $88,028 | $87,079 | $76,209 | $113,786 | $141,690 |
| Debt principal payment | $0 | $0 | $0 | $135,400 | $0 |
| Fixed asset additions | $0 | $33,494 | $30,213 | $30,110 | $0 |
| Total full costs (estimated) | $1,156,083 | $1,178,732 | $1,037,670 | $1,665,564 | $1,865,975 |
Capital structure indicators
| Liquidity info | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months of cash | 5.5 | 8.7 | 11.1 | 7.4 | 6.0 |
| Months of cash and investments | 5.5 | 8.7 | 11.1 | 7.4 | 6.0 |
| Months of estimated liquid unrestricted net assets | 5.1 | 5.1 | 8.8 | 6.8 | 5.5 |
| Balance sheet composition info | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $482,578 | $756,523 | $844,273 | $838,661 | $847,251 |
| Investments | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Receivables | $284,551 | $216,712 | $409,804 | $279,500 | $295,344 |
| Gross land, buildings, equipment (LBE) | $103,914 | $133,123 | $136,567 | $166,317 | $182,925 |
| Accumulated depreciation (as a % of LBE) | 65.3% | 57.7% | 48.9% | 52.5% | 60.6% |
| Liabilities (as a % of assets) | 5.5% | 16.2% | 13.9% | 5.3% | 6.4% |
| Unrestricted net assets | $484,525 | $499,257 | $742,462 | $850,952 | $846,679 |
| Temporarily restricted net assets | $274,801 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Permanently restricted net assets | $0 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Total restricted net assets | $274,801 | $363,755 | $401,546 | $295,000 | $298,825 |
| Total net assets | $759,326 | $863,012 | $1,144,008 | $1,145,952 | $1,145,504 |
Key data checks
| Key data checks info | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Material data errors | No | No | No | No | No |
Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Documents
President and CEO
Ms. Bonnie Entler
Bonnie Entler has a master's degree in Nonprofit Organization Administration, a bachelor's degree in Biology, and holds a permanent teaching certificate. Under her direction, Seeds became a separate 501(c)(3) organization in 2003 and attained national accreditation that same year. She has overseen the growth of Seeds from 100 students to 1,500 annually, making Seeds larger than the average high school. She was instrumental in preparing for the 2014 GED, work that outpaced peer agencies state-wide and nationally. During the pandemic, Bonnie led the team to develop a Virtual Classroom, resulting in Seeds thriving during a time when most adult ed orgs weren't even surviving. Under Bonnie's tenure, Seeds has won dozens of awards, both at the local and national levels. She celebrated 20 years with the organization in 2023.
Number of employees
Source: IRS Form 990
Seeds of Literacy
Officers, directors, trustees, and key employeesSOURCE: IRS Form 990
Compensation data
There are no highest paid employees recorded for this organization.
Seeds of Literacy
Board of directorsas of 06/14/2024
Board of directors data
Mr. Jonathan Khouri
Carnegie Management & Development Corporation
Term: 2021 -
Brooke Emmel
Key Corporate & Commerical Bank
Alan S. Lufkin
Litigation Management Inc.
Liz Voskuhl
Deloitte & Touche
Bobby Grebenc
Arrow International
Stephen Ligus
Hylant
Angela Baez
Eaton Corporation
Kevin Butler
McDonald Hopkins LLC
Carmen Edgehouse
Acrisure
Sanaa Julien
Group Plan Commission
Beth Morgan
Marcus Thomas LLC
Jessica Morgan
Greater Cleveland Foodbank
Michael Montaque
FirstEnergy
Bill O'Hare
Panzica Construction
Adam Roth
Ampli Fund
C. Ashley Saferight
Tucker Ellis LLP
Mallory Sanchez
Swagelock
Sandra Williams
Charter Communications
Mark Yanochko
Yanochko Technical Services
Michael Zadd
Cleveland Clinic
Erica Cameron
Cerity Partners
Anna Curtis
McKinsey & Company
Lisa Griffin
University Hospitals
Natha Hill
Roetzel & Andress
Andrew Phelps
Truist
Sandra Williams
Charter Communications
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
-
Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Not applicable -
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 -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
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
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
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