Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2007.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
80 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
26 people listed on the 990; $143K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Michael T Park’s $145K as Ceo; Mkt/IT Director is at the 61st 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael T Park | $145,194 | $145,194 | $135,461 | $132,000 | $132,000 | $128,769 |
| Veronica McDonnell | — | — | $12,240 | $23,400 | $10,800 | — |
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.
See Characterplus executive salaries →Questions the 990 asks
The form asks each of these directly. These are the filed answers.
- Family or business ties among officersPt VI · Ln 2No
- Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo
Programs and updates
Develops positive character in youth through school, family, and community partnerships and evidence-based education.
Questions for Characterplus
Your first name shows with your question. Characterplus answers here, for everyone.
Characterplus serves 300,000+ students (k-12), 16,000+ teachers in over 50 school districts & 500 schools throughout missouri, illinois & kansas, the majority of which are in the ST. Louis metropolitan area.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2021 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY21 | End FY21 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $1.7M | $1.8M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $1.8M | $1.8M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $79K | $0 |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $1.7M | $1.8M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $143K | $90K | $33K | $20K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $256K | $228K | $19K | $10K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $30K | $24K | $4K | $2K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $1K | $1K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $13K | $9K | $4K | |
| Investment management feesLn 11f | $6K | $6K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $5K | $4K | $613 | $358 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $45K | $45K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $10K | $8K | $1K | $650 |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $23K | $18K | $3K | $2K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $34K | $28K | $4K | $2K |
| TravelLn 17 | $4K | $3K | $464 | $271 |
| Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18 | $151 | $122 | $18 | $11 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $1K | $1K | $165 | $96 |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $9K | $7K | $2K | |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $10K | $8K | $1K | $467 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $3K | $2K | $189 | $958 |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $594K | $475K | $79K | $39K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS May 12, 2026 | $1.3M | $1.5M | −$138K | $2.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Feb 27, 2025 | $1.3M | $1.2M | $108K | $2.5M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Mar 7, 2024 | $1.6M | $1.1M | $536K | $2.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Mar 6, 2023 | $905K | $850K | $55K | $1.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 ViewingFiled with the IRS Nov 13, 2021 | $607K | $594K | $14K | $1.8M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020Filed with the IRS May 14, 2021 | $663K | $584K | $80K | $1.7M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2021 990
Part I · Summary $607,334 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 25 of 25 board members independent, 3 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $607,334 across 9 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $593,632 across 17 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $1,790,892 assets, 9 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,790,892 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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