Ecology Education Inc.

“The Organization adopted amendments and changes to its governing documents and bylaws in November 2021. Upon review, it appears that the 2021 Form 990 for the Organization did not describe these amendments. Accordingly, for transparency and compliance purposes, the Organization is taking efforts to ensure that these changes are reported on this 2022 Form 990, in as timely a manner as possible. The November 2021 Bylaw Amendments made effective the following modifications: 1. The amended bylaws removed from the list of eligibility-requirements for designation as a board member emeritus the mandate that the current or former board member must have completed their appointed term. 2. The amended bylaws removed the requirement that the Treasurer authorize all payments of the Organization's funds. 3. The Executive Committee may now expedite an electronic vote as approved by the Board. 4. The Governance Committee is now mandated to perform a bylaws review every three years. 5. The amended bylaws established a series of new committees, as follows: 5-A. Advancement Committee: The Advancement Committee shall be comprised of at least three members of the Board, including, if possible, a board member or other suitable volunteer who has experience in the field of Development. The School's President/CEO and the Development Director administrator in charge of advancement2 shall serve in an advisory capacity. The Committee shall provide guidance, oversight, and support to the School's Development staff with regard to fundraising activities and ensure that these activities are coordinated with the School's marketing efforts. 5-B. Human Resources Committee: The Human Resources Committee shall be comprised of at least three members of the Board, including, if possible, a board member or other suitable volunteer who has experience in the field of human resource management. The School's Administrator in charge of Human Resources shall serve in an advisory capacity. The Committee shall provide guidance, oversight, and support to management with regard to the creation of, regular review of and implementation of personnel policies and procedures. 5-C. Facilities and Operations Committee: The Facilities and Operations Committee shall be comprised of at least three members of the Board, including, if possible, a board member or other suitable volunteer who has experience in the management of complex facilities and/or business operations including agricultural and hospitality businesses. The School's Business Manager and Operations Manager shall serve in an advisory capacity. The Committee shall provide guidance, oversight, and support to management with regard to the planning, operations and maintenance and repair of the physical plant, and capital equipment including the dormitories and dining common, and agricultural activities as well as the overall business operations of the School. In addition to these bylaw changes, the Organization also adopted the following policy and procedural changes: 1. The Organization will provide up to 8 hours of paid time off work annually for each permanent full-time employee to participate in volunteer activities. 2. The Ecology School is committed to the philosophy of animal compassion and welfare. The Ecology School believes that we have an intrinsic duty to reduce the level of harm and prevent the abuse and torture of animals. In order to better safeguard the welfare of animals and to develop a higher level of empathy for their plight, embedded within The Ecology School's field and food systems curriculum are the connections between humans, the food we eat, and the environment that supports it. When interacting with wild creatures (while tide pooling or pond mucking for instance) The Ecology School explains how to handle creatures carefully and with respect. The Ecology School works to purchase supplies, materials and ingredients that are responsibly sourced, including a goal of sourcing 100% of all produce from on”

“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.”

“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.”

“For the year ending December 31, 2022, the Organization engaged a new independent public accounting firm to provide audit and tax preparation services. The audit is subject to the oversight and review of the Organization's CEO, Business Manager, and Board committees.”