Firstspark INC EIN 20-1421876

Firstspark INC FY2021 filing

EIN  20-1421876 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Newport News, VA
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →
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Verified accurate 8/23/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Coordinates prenatal care, early education, and health services to prepare children in Hampton and Newport News, Virginia, for kindergarten and lifelong success.
Leadership
Diane L Umstead · Executive Director · $94K
Money in and out
$2.8M revenue, $2.5M expenses
Bottom line
94% program efficiency

Coordinates prenatal care, early education, and health services to prepare children in Hampton and Newport News, Virginia, for kindergarten and lifelong success. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $2.8M in revenue, $2.5M in expenses, and $501K in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$2.8M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$501K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $277K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.94 Management & general $0.04 Fundraising $0.02
Program efficiency
94%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
2.2mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+10%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$2.8M
FY2021▲ +217%
Expenses
$2.5M
FY2021▲ +170%
Total assets
$758K
FY2021▲ +109%
Total liabilities
$256K
FY2021▲ +87%
Total revenue
$2.8M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.5M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$501K
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$277K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$758K
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B94%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 318
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 417
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $2.3M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Virginia Quality (vq)

Improves the quality of child care centers, preschools and family child care homes by providing teacher training and technical assistance, plus classroom materials as part of the state quality improvement rating system.

$2.2Mprogram expense
02

Prenatal Universal Screen

Working to ensure healthier pregnancies, healthier births and healthier families by connecting expectant mothers with free and low-cost services and resources by working with doctors and clinics to make sure all pregnant women are screened and assess their need for services, especially home visiting.

$118Kprogram expense
03

Oral health education initiative provided oral health education by use of curriculum in public pre-k, and worked with wic and DSS programs to train adults in teaching children about the important of oral health as it relates to overall health and child development. 196 adults trained

$33Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CFirstspark INC
EINHdr · item D20-1421876
Principal addressHdr · item CNewport News, VA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.smartbeginningsvp.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MVA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEducation (B21)
Ruling yearIRS BMFFeb 2005

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a18
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b17
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$94,500Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Diane Umstead’s $99K as Executive Director - Ended 12/24 is at the 31st percentile of top reported officer pay among 3392 $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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Diane Umstead$99,493$97,741$97,893$96,105
Diane L Umstead$94,500$82,500
Tressell Carter$13,346

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$2.8M · 99%
Program service revenue$15K · 1%
Contributions & grants99%$2.8M
Program service revenue1%$15K
Investment income$8K
— government grantsLn 1e$2.4M
Total revenueLn 12$2.8M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.94 Management & general $0.04 Fundraising $0.02
Program services94%$2.4M
Management & general4%$114K
Fundraising2%$46K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.5M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$474K
Total assetsLn 16$758K
Total liabilitiesLn 26$256K
Total net assetsLn 32$501K
Months of cash on handcomputed2.2

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $474K · Operating expenses/yr $2.5M
2.2 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $2.4M · Total expenses $2.5M
94%
Management & General
Management & general $114K · Total expenses $2.5M
4%
Fundraising
Fundraising $46K · Total expenses $2.5M
2%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (2-yr avg) $37K · Solicited contributions (2-yr avg) $370K
$0.10 to raise $1 (2-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $2.8M · Total revenue $2.8M
99%
Government reliance
Government grants $2.4M · Total revenue $2.8M
84%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $15K · Total revenue $2.8M
1%
Investment reliance
Investment income $8K · Total revenue $2.8M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $15K · Total expenses $2.5M
1%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $2.8M · Prior year $889K
+217%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $501K · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $2.8M · Expenses $2.5M
+10%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $758K
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $501K · Total assets $758K
66%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $758K
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Diane L Umstead · Reported title EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR · Highest reported compensation $94K · Total expenses $2.5M
4%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $769K · Total expenses $2.5M
30%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 94%
Overhead ratio 4%
Fundraising cost ratio 2%
Revenue growth 217%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 1%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 7 funders →
Grants paid · 71 grants · $10.0M · 2020–2024
Precious Jewels LLCFY2024$640,690
Arms of the KingFY2024$315,767
Tick Tock Around the Clock LLCFY2024$293,759
Grand Kids Child Care CenterFY2024$251,752
Warwick Kids Academy Operated by Dee Care LLCFY2024$234,907
Horizons Unlimited Early Learning CenterFY2024$187,786
Rf Wilkinson YMCA PreschoolVA · FY2024$183,365
YMCA - HunnicutVA · FY2024$107,890
Amazing Child Care and Learning AcademyFY2024$58,016
Precious Jewels LLCFY2023$422,958
Grand Kids Child Care CenterFY2023$313,039
Warwick Kids Academy Operated by Dee Care LLCFY2023$263,785
Tick Tock Around the Clock LLCFY2023$262,080
Horizons Unlimited Early Learning CenterFY2023$206,267
See all 71 grants →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$5.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$5.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$4.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$2.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$2.8M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$889K revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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