To empower disaffected, low-income students through multi-year project-based learning programs.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
75¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$1.0M paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · Form 990Independent: from IRS data, not the org
Download 990
IRS status
501(c)(3)
not on the IRS revocation list
Looks good: listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
Looks good: the IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $216K a year · 5% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
75%
of spending
Fine: 75% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.0M
to officers and key staff · 27% of spending
Worth a look: pay to officers and key staff is 27% of spending; over 20%.
Pt VII · Sec A
9 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 8.7 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $35K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$1.0M
17% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 17% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
18
of 19 voting members
Looks good: 18 of 19 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$4.7M
+5% vs prior year
Spent
$3.9M
To programs
75%
Net assets
$4.9M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$4.7M
FY2023▲ +5%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$3.3M
FY2021$4.1M
FY2022$4.5M
FY2023$4.7M
FY2024$3.4M
FY2025$3.9M
Expenses
$3.9M
FY2023▲ +8%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$3.6M
FY2021$3.3M
FY2022$3.6M
FY2023$3.9M
FY2024$4.0M
FY2025$4.0M
Net assets
$4.9M
FY2023▲ +18%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$2.6M
FY2021$3.3M
FY2022$4.1M
FY2023$4.9M
FY2024$4.2M
FY2025$4.1M

From the FY2023 Form 990 (year ending June 2023) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 1997.

IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File

Where the money goes

75 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 75% · $2.9M Management & general 9% · $354K Fundraising 16% · $633K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

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Who runs it and what they're paid

28 people listed on the 990; $1.0M paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Founder & President
$182,261Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Development Officer
$161,000Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Inst. Giving & HR
$135,941Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Youth Dev. Programs
$121,000Pt VII · Sec A
Director, Design Edu. Programs
$115,941Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance
$112,250Pt VII · Sec A
Director, School & Comm. Relations
$110,940Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Financial Officer
$97,154Pt VII · Sec A

Ruth Lande Shuman’s $192K as Founder & President is at the 80th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3394 $1–10M education nonprofits. Peer set: organizations in the same NTEE major field of work and revenue-size band, compared on each org’s own highest-paid officer/key-employee, from Form 990 Part VII / 990-PF Part VIII. Descriptive placement, not a verdict on whether the pay is appropriate.

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Ruth Lande Shuman$191,906$182,705$182,261$183,580$164,743$181,031
Menzie Schoen—————$174,131
Jessica Gillota——$161,000———
Menzie Schoen Senior Vice————$159,314—
Alan Kornblum$152,432$143,691$135,941$141,688$126,502—
Michael Dale Bookout—$141,375$112,250———
Bree Falato$135,693—————
Jose Figueroa$133,867$120,000$121,000———

Total reportable compensation (Form 990 Part VII column D / Schedule J column E) by filing year, matched by name within this organization. The Schedule J base / bonus / deferred breakdown is not parsed into this dataset.

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Questions the 990 asks

The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.

  • Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Empowers low-income students with multi-year project-based learning.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $2.9M · in their own filed words · FY2022
01

In the 28 years since its founding in 1996, publicolor has achieved significant results:an estimated 25,000 students from low-income communities have participated in publicolor programs. Over 29,000 corporate, community and college volunteers have engaged in painting public schools, tutoring, and mentoring.

$2.9Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$35K
Grants paid · 12 grants · $1.2M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$69,716
Unitemized GrantFY2023$78,401
Unitemized GrantFY2022$87,301
Unitemized GrantFY2021$135,054
Unitemized GrantFY2021$94,971
Unitemized GrantFY2020$147,414
Unitemized GrantFY2020$89,362
Unitemized GrantFY2020$67,378
Unitemized GrantFY2019$173,888
Unitemized GrantFY2019$117,386
Unitemized GrantFY2019$114,280
Unitemized GrantFY2019$500

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$4.7M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$4.6M
Investment incomeLn 3$83K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$60K
Money outPt IX
$3.9M
Ln 25
Programscol B$2.9M
Managementcol C$354K
Fundraisingcol D$633K
Owns and owesPt X
$4.9M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.8M
Total assetsLn 16$5.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.0M
PeoplePt VI, VII
28
listed · VII A
PaidVII A8
Voting boardVI 1a19
IndependentVI 1b18
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$4.6M
Government grantsLn 1e$1.2M
Noncash giftsLn 1g$101K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$1.2M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$60K
Investment incomeLn 3$83K
Gains on assetsLn 7$0
Total revenueLn 12$4.7M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$440K
SavingsLn 2$2.4M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$2.8M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$138K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$182K
Other assetsLn 15$898K
Total assetsLn 16$5.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$1.0M
Net assetsLn 32$4.9M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 543
VolunteersI 61,119
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$3.0M$2.8M
InvestmentsLn 11–13$15K$138K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$235K$182K
Total assetsLn 16$4.4M$5.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$253K$1.0M
Net assetsLn 32$4.1M$4.9M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$97K$97K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$482K$256K$34K$192K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.7M$1.2M$197K$248K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$175K$122K$21K$31K
Payroll taxesLn 10$185K$127K$20K$37K
Accounting feesLn 11c$26K$26K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$5K$5K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$268K$212K$14K$42K
Office expensesLn 13$47K$35K$5K$7K
Information technologyLn 14$64K$64K
OccupancyLn 16$313K$270K$22K$21K
TravelLn 17$58K$57K$323$772
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$66K$57K$5K$5K
InsuranceLn 23$52K$47K$3K$3K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$376K$327K$7K$43K
All other expensesLn 24e$24K$24K
Total functional expensesLn 25$3.9M$2.9M$354K$633K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $3.9M$4.0M−$149K$4.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $3.4M$4.0M−$635K$4.2M 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $4.7M$3.9M$776K$4.9M 990 PDF
FY2022 $4.5M$3.6M$848K$4.1M 990 PDF
FY2021 $4.1M$3.3M$785K$3.3M 990 PDF
FY2020 $3.3M$3.6M−$331K$2.6M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support M · Noncash J · Pay O · Explanations
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $4,678,819 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $4,484,025$4,630,385
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $17,800$60,479
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $12,790$83,379
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$50,975−$95,424
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $4,463,640$4,678,819
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $237,190$96,806
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $2,440,301$2,508,146
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$5,000
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $938,607$1,293,105
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $3,616,098$3,903,057
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $847,542$775,762
Part VI · Governance 18 of 19 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body19
VI-1b Independent voting members18
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $4,678,819 across 11 lines filed
Lines not itemized here account for $1,313 of total revenue; see the IRS return.
VIII-1c Fundraising events$1,195,525
VIII-1e Government grants$1,219,113
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$2,215,747
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$101,256
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$4,630,385
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $60,479$60,479
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $83,379$83,379
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assets$0
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax −$109,419−$109,419
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $12,682$12,682
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $61,792 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax −$13,358$4,678,819
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $3,903,057 across 16 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $96,806$96,806
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $255,971 · Management $34,292 · Fundraising $191,642$481,905
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $1,221,198 · Management $197,070 · Fundraising $248,089$1,666,357
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $122,396 · Management $21,459 · Fundraising $30,951$174,806
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $127,437 · Management $20,142 · Fundraising $37,499$185,078
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $25,550$25,550
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $5,000$5,000
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $212,171 · Management $13,991 · Fundraising $41,965$268,127
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $35,381 · Management $4,763 · Fundraising $6,692$46,836
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $63,706$63,706
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $269,847 · Management $22,097 · Fundraising $20,562$312,506
IX-17 TravelPrograms $56,756 · Management $323 · Fundraising $772$57,851
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $56,698 · Management $4,801 · Fundraising $4,801$66,300
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $46,548 · Management $2,571 · Fundraising $2,571$51,690
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $326,868 · Management $6,786 · Fundraising $42,717$376,371
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $24,168$24,168
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $2,915,951 · Management $353,845 · Fundraising $633,261$3,903,057
Part X · Balance sheet $5,858,270 assets, 17 lines filed
Asset lines not itemized here account for $8,000; see the IRS return.
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $1,599,585$440,041
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $1,392,005$2,403,830
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $782,070$1,593,100
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $70,541$6,923
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $91,727$118,130
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $71,599$70,310
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $235,150$182,027
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $14,568$138,166
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $105,896$897,743
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $4,363,141$5,858,270
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $90,341$79,432
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $162,894$922,224
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $253,235$1,001,656
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $3,148,496$3,357,417
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $961,410$1,499,197
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $4,109,906$4,856,614
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $4,363,141$5,858,270
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $4,856,614 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$4,678,819
XI-2 Total expenses$3,903,057
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$775,762
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$4,109,906
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$13,763
XI-9 Other changes in net assets−$42,817
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$4,856,614

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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