Empower underserved arizona students to enroll in and graduate from college. Step currently works with over 300 low-income AZ high-school students yearly. A majority of Step students are the first generation in their family to seek a college degree. To date, 96 of steps college-prep alumni are in college or have attained a college degree.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
84¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 92 volunteers and 9 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
5 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $61K a year · 8% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
84%
of spending
Looks good: 84% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$111K
to officers and key staff · 12% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 12% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
7 mo
of spending, in cash
Plus $663K in investments, Pt X · Ln 11–13
Looks good: 7.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
8
named funders · $434K
Looks good: 8 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$9K
0.7% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 1% 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
$857K
-0.4% vs prior year
Spent
$889K
To programs
84%
Net assets
$1.2M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$857K
FY2025-0.4%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$547K
FY2021$562K
FY2022$736K
FY2023$858K
FY2024$860K
FY2025$857K
Expenses
$889K
FY2025▲ +4%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$358K
FY2021$480K
FY2022$693K
FY2023$780K
FY2024$855K
FY2025$889K
Net assets
$1.2M
FY2025▲ +7%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$876K
FY2021$960K
FY2022$929K
FY2023$1.0M
FY2024$1.1M
FY2025$1.2M

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

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 2003.

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

Where the money goes

84 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 84% · $751K Management & general 6% · $53K Fundraising 10% · $86K

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

14 people listed on the 990; $111K 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
Founder, President, and CEO
$110,687Pt VII · Sec A
Board Chair
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Tracy Baynes’s $111K as Founder, President, and CEO is at the 87th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1612 $100K–1M 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Tracy Baynes$110,687$106,231$99,000$88,625$85,158$86,238
Les Smith—————$70,128

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 Step Student Expedition Program INC executive salaries →

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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

Empowers low-income Arizona students with skills for college degrees and breaking poverty cycles.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $751K · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

College-prep program step provided its comprehensive college-prep program to over 300 low-income arizona high-school students last year. Steps graduating class of 2024 are attending the three arizona state universities as well as top-ranked schools nationwide including bowdoin college, brown university, cornell university, dartmouth…

$751Kprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 8 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$857K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$833K
Investment incomeLn 3$24K
Money outPt IX
$889K
Ln 25
Programscol B$751K
Managementcol C$53K
Fundraisingcol D$86K
Owns and owesPt X
$1.2M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$531K
Total assetsLn 16$1.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$9K
PeoplePt VI, VII
14
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a13
IndependentVI 1b13
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$833K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$3K
Investment incomeLn 3$24K
Gains on assetsLn 7−$55
Total revenueLn 12$857K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$87K
SavingsLn 2$445K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$531K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$663K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2K
Total assetsLn 16$1.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$9K
Net assetsLn 32$1.2M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 59
VolunteersI 692
Fiscal year endsHeaderAugust
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 FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$556K$531K
InvestmentsLn 11–13$588K$663K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2K
Total assetsLn 16$1.1M$1.2M
LiabilitiesLn 26$4K$9K
Net assetsLn 32$1.1M$1.2M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$119K$107K$12K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$314K$260K$54K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$0
Other employee benefitsLn 9$19K$18K$657
Payroll taxesLn 10$33K$28K$863$4K
Management feesLn 11a$0
Legal feesLn 11b$0
Accounting feesLn 11c$25K$25K
Lobbying feesLn 11d$0
Investment management feesLn 11f$0
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$7K$4K$3K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$10K$4K$6K
Office expensesLn 13$8K$3K$5K$2
Information technologyLn 14$49K$31K$19K
RoyaltiesLn 15$0
OccupancyLn 16$0
TravelLn 17$31K$31K
Travel and entertainment for public officialsLn 18$0
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$0
InterestLn 20$0
Payments to affiliatesLn 21$0
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$216$216
InsuranceLn 23$8K$360$8K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$266K$264K$2K
All other expensesLn 24e$0
Total functional expensesLn 25$889K$751K$53K$86K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $857K$889K−$33K$1.2M 990 PDF
FY2024 $860K$855K$5K$1.1M 990 PDF
FY2023 $858K$780K$77K$1.0M 990 PDF
FY2022 $736K$693K$43K$929K 990 PDF
FY2021 $562K$480K$82K$960K 990 PDF
FY2020 $547K$358K$189K$876K 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 O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $856,729 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $834,570$832,711
I-9 Program service revenue$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $25,834$24,018
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $860,404$856,729
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paid$0
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $457,827$484,520
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $397,089$404,877
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $854,916$889,397
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $5,488−$32,668
Part VI · Governance 13 of 13 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body13
VI-1b Independent voting members13
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
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 $856,729 across 6 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$832,711
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$2,961
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$832,711
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $24,073$24,073
VIII-7 Net gain or loss on sales of assetsExcluded from tax −$55−$55
VIII-12 Total revenueExcluded from tax $24,018$856,729
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $889,397 across 30 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizations$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individuals$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipients$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for members$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $106,799 · Management $11,866$118,665
IX-6 Pay of disqualified persons$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $260,399 · Fundraising $53,960$314,359
IX-8 Pension plan contributions$0
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $18,003 · Fundraising $657$18,660
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $27,823 · Management $863 · Fundraising $4,150$32,836
IX-11a Management fees$0
IX-11b Legal fees$0
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $25,103$25,103
IX-11d Lobbying fees$0
IX-11f Investment management fees$0
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $4,075 · Management $2,813$6,888
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $4,063 · Fundraising $6,303$10,366
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $3,311 · Management $4,612 · Fundraising $2$7,925
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $30,648 · Fundraising $18,842$49,490
IX-15 Royalties$0
IX-16 Occupancy$0
IX-17 TravelPrograms $31,389$31,389
IX-18 Travel and entertainment for public officials$0
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetings$0
IX-20 Interest$0
IX-21 Payments to affiliates$0
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationManagement $216$216
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $360 · Management $7,508$7,868
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $263,632 · Fundraising $2,000$265,632
IX-24e All other expenses$0
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $750,502 · Management $52,981 · Fundraising $85,914$889,397
Part X · Balance sheet $1,229,286 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $70,965$86,569
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $484,854$444,607
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$25,000
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred charges$8,080
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, net$2,379
X-11 Publicly traded securitiesStart of year $587,591$662,651
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $1,143,410$1,229,286
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expenses$2,820
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $4,462$5,868
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $4,462$8,688
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $1,138,948$1,174,164
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictions$46,434
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $1,138,948$1,220,598
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $1,143,410$1,229,286
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,220,598 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$856,729
XI-2 Total expenses$889,397
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$32,668
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$1,138,948
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$64,947
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$49,371
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,220,598

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

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