Ecology Education Inc

“During the period covered by this Form 990, the Organization made effective the following significant changes to its bylaws: The Amended Bylaws state that the Board of Directors shall be composed of not less than eleven (11) or more than twenty-one (21) Directors. Previously, the Board was to be composed of not less than nine (9) or more than fifteen (15) Directors.”

“The Ecology School's Form 990 is prepared by an indpendent public accounting firm with the assistance of The School's financial staff. The School's Finance Committee then reviews a draft of the Form 990, followed by the full Board of Directors and the President & CEO. Once any changes are made and the draft is approved, the Form 990 is filed with the Internal Revenue Service. For this 2024 Form 990, the tax return was shared with the Board and a vote was taken to approve the return for filing at the October 22nd Board meeting.”

“Prior to taking their position on the Board of Directors and annually thereafter, each Director shall submit in writing to the Board Chair of the Corporation a list of all businesses and other organizations of which the Director or their spouse/domestic partner is an officer, director, trustee, member, owner (either as a sole proprietor or partner), shareholder with at least 5% interest in all outstanding voting shares, employee or agent with which the Corporation has, or might be expected to have, a relationship or a transaction in which the Director might have a conflicting interest. Each written statement shall be resubmitted with any necessary changes annually. The Board Chair shall become familiar with the statements of all Directors in order to guide their conduct should a conflict arise. The Treasurer of the Corporation shall be familiar with the statement filed by the Board Chair. At such time as any matter comes before the Board of Directors in such a way as to give rise to a conflict of interest, the affected Director shall make known the potential conflict, whether disclosed by the Director's written statement or not, and after answering any questions that might be asked of them, shall withdraw from the meeting if requested by the Board Chair for so long a the matter shall continue under discussion. Should the matter be brought to a vote and if the Director has been requested to withdraw, then the affected Director shall not vote thereon. In the event that such a Director fails to withdraw upon the request of the Board Chair, the Board Chair is empowered to and shall require that the affected Director remove himself or herself from the room during both the discussion and vote on the matter. In the event the conflict of interest affects the Board Chair, the Treasurer is empowered to and may request that the Board Chair remove themself in the same manner, and for the duration of discussion and action on the matter, the Treasurer shall preside. If the matter is the item of business for which a special meeting of the Board or Directors was called and if a Director has been requested to withdraw, then the affected Director shall not be counted to establish a quorum, nor shall such Director participate in the deliberations or vote thereon.”

“The annual process for determining the compensation of the Organization's officers and key employees includes a review of comparable data and market factors followed by a formal deliberation and approval by the appropriate independent persons, relative to the individual receiving any changes in compensation. The Organization performs this review at least every two years to coordinate with the regular and current information gathered and released by the Maine Association of Nonprofits's compensation survey, a report which consolidates compensation and benefits data across hundreds of comparable entities. Payments made to the Organization's chief executives are subject to approval by the Board of Directors.”

“The Organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public upon request.”

“The audit process has not changed from the prior year.”