Elderhostel Inc DBA Road Scholar

“The Form 990 is reviewed by the CFO, President/CEO, tax advisors from the national accounting firm of Grant Thornton LLP, Audit Committee and the Board of Directors before it is filed. Changes from any of these reviews are incorporated before the 990 is reviewed at the next level and ultimately filed.”

“Road Scholar has a Conflict of Interest Policy to govern arrangements and activities between the Organization, and Road Scholar's Board of Directors, officers, senior staff, management employees and other "Interested Persons" as defined in the policy. This policy details the duty to disclose conflicts of interest, procedures for addressing any conflict, including the recusal of directors, officers or employees from decisions regarding their potential conflict, defines and identifies possible conflicts of interest. Annually, all directors, officers, senior staff and management employees sign a statement which affirms their understanding of the policy and discloses any potential conflicts of interest. All disclosed potential conflicts are reviewed by the CEO with the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for awareness and if necessary, for additional actions.”

“The Executive Committee serves as the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors and votes on and approves compensation for the President/CEO annually, and reviews and approves compensation as recommended by the CEO for the Senior Leadership employees that report to the CEO. The Executive Committee reviews compensation for the CEO and Senior Leadership employees against compensation data for similarly situated organizations for functionally comparable positions. The compensation review process has been conducted annually since 2002 and data is utilized from a number of sources including compensation surveys, Forms 990 and an independent compensation consultant. The deliberation and decisions regarding compensation arrangements are contemporaneously documented and recorded in the minutes of the Executive Committee and the results are presented to the full Board.”

“Road Scholar provides its governing documents, Conflict of Interest Policy and Audited Financial Statements upon request in either print or electronic form.”

“The top five independent contractors reported on the Form 990 are program providers and vendors. Payments to these entities are shown on a gross basis for calendar year 2020. A substantial portion of those payments is for costs incurred in arranging and conducting Road Scholar programs including accommodations, transportation, and meals for program participants, which Road Scholar cannot segregate. The top five independent contractors that are not program providers or vendors are as follows: Open Destinations Ltd (technology consulting and support including software license fees) - $1,022,125; Rackspace Technology, Inc. (technology hosting and support) - $671,690; Fry Communications, Inc. (catalogs and brochures production/mailing) - $437,654; Optimizely, Inc. (website hosting services) - $352,218; and Conservant LLC (digital media and marketing services) - $281,196.”

“provide extraordinary access, and stimulate discourse and friendship among people who value lifelong learning. The Organization sponsors educational programs throughout the United States, Canada and nearly 120 other countries. The Organization publishes comprehensive program catalogs, provides extensive information on the Web about every program offered, and provides a registration system to match interested participants with available programs. In August 2020, Road Scholar introduced virtual, web-based educational programs and lectures. During fiscal 2021, the Organization provided 199 multi-day, on-line programs attended by 5,289 participants and 193 on-line lectures attended by 47,702 participants.”

“As a result of the outbreak of COVID-19 and the disruption in domestic and global travel, all on-site, in-person programs scheduled to depart between March 17, 2020 and June 30, 2021 were cancelled. Therefore, in August 2020, Road Scholar introduced virtual, web-based educational programs and lectures for which thousands of participants attended. Some on-site, in-person programs resumed in July 2021. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, management implemented cost savings and other measures to drastically reduce operating expenses and ensure adequate liquidity, such as restructuring obligations with suppliers, laying off staff, obtaining Board authorization to utilize Board designated endowment funds, borrowing, utilizing credits and loans provided by the U.S government, and selling (and leasing back a portion of) the headquarters building in Boston, Massachusetts.”

“Change in fair value of forward currency contracts totaled $8,845,932.”