The Pathfinder School INC

Tax-deductible

Traverse City, MI501(c)(3)EducationEIN 20-8457978

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Provide an educational program to foster intellectual curiosity and love of learning.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
76¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 200 volunteers and 53 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2025 · 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
4 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $97K a year · 4% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
76%
of spending
Looks good: 76% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$86K
to officers and key staff · 3% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 91% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 3% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
1 mo
of spending, in cash
Fine: 1.4 months of spending in cash; 1 to 3.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $1K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$567K
15% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 15% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
13
of 13 voting members
Looks good: 13 of 13 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$2.6M
+4% vs prior year
Spent
$2.7M
To programs
76%
Net assets
$3.3M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$2.6M
FY2025▲ +4%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$2.0M
FY2021$1.8M
FY2022$2.7M
FY2023$2.8M
FY2024$2.5M
FY2025$2.6M
Expenses
$2.7M
FY2025▲ +6%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.7M
FY2021$1.7M
FY2022$2.3M
FY2023$2.7M
FY2024$2.5M
FY2025$2.7M
Net assets
$3.3M
FY2025▼ -4%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$3.0M
FY2021$3.1M
FY2022$3.4M
FY2023$3.5M
FY2024$3.4M
FY2025$3.3M

From the FY2025 Form 990 (year ending June 2025) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 2007.

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

Where the money goes

76 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 76% · $2.0M Management & general 21% · $571K Fundraising 3% · $87K

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

15 people listed on the 990; $86K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2024); the FY2025 filing did not itemize Part VII
Head of School
$58,270Pt VII · Sec A
Business Officer
$27,532Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Co-Vice President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Eric Wynn’s $58K as Head of School is at the 9th 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Jill Vigenski—$93,397$91,883$81,522$76,916$68,198
Eric Wynn$58,270—————
Ellen Northway—$49,779$46,357$44,150$44,150$44,150
Karline Jensen$27,532—————

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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Fosters intellectual curiosity and a love of learning through educational programs.

Provided by the organization

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1 program service account for $2.0M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

The pathfinder school provides a vigorous experiential learning environment for children in grades pre-k through the eighth grade. Pathfinder also hosts an outdoor summer day camp. Pathfinder's program is distinguished by strong meaningful connections between teachers, students and parents, by a supportive learning environment that…

$2.0Mprogram expense

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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 · FY2024
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$1K
Grants paid · 6 grants · $2.6M · 2019–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$483,665
Unitemized GrantFY2023$520,473
Unitemized GrantFY2022$518,988
Unitemized GrantFY2021$387,089
Unitemized GrantFY2020$330,608
Unitemized GrantFY2019$335,497

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$2.6M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.9M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$556K
Other incomeLn 4–11$72K
Money outPt IX
$2.7M
Ln 25
Programscol B$2.0M
Managementcol C$571K
Fundraisingcol D$87K
Owns and owesPt X
$3.3M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$306K
Total assetsLn 16$3.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$567K
PeoplePt VI, VII
15
listed · VII A
PaidVII A2
Voting boardVI 1a13
IndependentVI 1b13
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$556K
Government grantsLn 1e$189K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$55K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$46K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$1.9M
Investment incomeLn 3$2K
Other incomeLn 4–11$72K
Total revenueLn 12$2.6M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$306K
SavingsLn 2$0
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$306K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$44K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3.4M
Other assetsLn 15$56K
Total assetsLn 16$3.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$567K
Net assetsLn 32$3.3M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 553
VolunteersI 6200
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14No
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$458K$306K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$44K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3.3M$3.4M
Total assetsLn 16$3.8M$3.9M
LiabilitiesLn 26$386K$567K
Net assetsLn 32$3.4M$3.3M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$484K$484K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$222K$3K$219K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$1.3M$1.1M$130K$54K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$133K$118K$16K
Payroll taxesLn 10$105K$78K$23K$4K
Accounting feesLn 11c$10K$10K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$3K$2K$781$615
Advertising and promotionLn 12$9K$111$2K$7K
Office expensesLn 13$8K$5K$622$2K
OccupancyLn 16$41K$30K$10K$1K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$58K$58K
InsuranceLn 23$37K$9K$27K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$260K$115K$144K$1K
All other expensesLn 24e$69K$63K$5K$1K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.7M$2.0M$571K$87K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $2.6M$2.7M−$131K$3.3M 990 PDF
FY2024 $2.5M$2.5M−$80K$3.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 $2.8M$2.7M$77K$3.5M 990 PDF
FY2022 $2.7M$2.3M$357K$3.4M 990 PDF
FY2021 $1.8M$1.7M$93K$3.1M 990 PDF
FY2020 $2.0M$1.7M$267K$3.0M 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
See the full FY2025 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,558,005 across 9 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$45,850
VIII-1e Government grants$189,077
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$321,026
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$55,272
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$555,953
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $1,928,309$1,928,309
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $1,673$1,673
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising eventsExcluded from tax $72,070$72,070
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $1,928,309 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $73,743$2,558,005
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,689,335 across 14 lines filed
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $483,665$483,665
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $2,775 · Management $219,004$221,779
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $1,066,843 · Management $130,467 · Fundraising $54,038$1,251,348
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $117,643 · Fundraising $15,826$133,469
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $78,208 · Management $22,551 · Fundraising $4,110$104,869
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $9,606$9,606
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $1,830 · Management $781 · Fundraising $615$3,226
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $111 · Management $1,651 · Fundraising $7,207$8,969
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $4,964 · Management $622 · Fundraising $2,258$7,844
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $30,081 · Management $9,595 · Fundraising $1,031$40,707
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $58,139$58,139
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $9,133 · Management $27,401$36,534
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $114,690 · Management $143,763 · Fundraising $1,254$259,707
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $63,042 · Management $5,286 · Fundraising $1,145$69,473
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $2,031,124 · Management $570,727 · Fundraising $87,484$2,689,335
Part X · Balance sheet $3,855,155 assets, 16 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $421,743$306,494
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $36,135$0
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$22,810
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $10,100$6,401
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $7,514$1,315
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $3,272,949$3,418,661
X-11 Publicly traded securities$43,871
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $54,649$55,603
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $3,803,090$3,855,155
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $89,985$205,517
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $295,768$361,494
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $385,753$567,011
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $3,275,076$3,184,843
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $142,261$103,301
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $3,417,337$3,288,144
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $3,803,090$3,855,155
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $3,288,144 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$2,558,005
XI-2 Total expenses$2,689,335
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$131,330
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$3,417,337
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$2,137
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$3,288,144

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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