First Up EIN 23-6438144

First Up

EIN  23-6438144 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Philadelphia, PA Founded 1967
Form 990 (PDF) Compare with another nonprofit →
Verified accurate 8/22/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Equips adults to positively impact young children's education and development.
Leadership
Carol Austin · Executive Director · $150K
Money in and out
$2.7M revenue, $5.3M expenses
Bottom line
79% program efficiency

Equips adults to positively impact young children's education and development. For fiscal year 2024 it reported $2.7M in revenue, $5.3M in expenses, and $7.4M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2024
Total revenue
$2.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$5.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$7.4M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$2.6M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.79 Management & general $0.14 Fundraising $0.07
Program efficiency
79%
of spending reaches programs▲ +4% vs prior filing year
Operating runway
14.0mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate▼ -2% vs prior filing year
Surplus margin
-98%
revenue over expenses, this year▼ -2146% vs prior filing year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2024 · Form 990
Revenue
$2.7M
FY2024▼ -50%
Expenses
$5.3M
FY2024▲ +4%
Total assets
$8.5M
FY2024▼ -20%
Total liabilities
$1.1M
FY2024▲ +19%
Total revenue
$2.7M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$5.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$7.4M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$2.6M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$8.5M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B79%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 317
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 417
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $4.1M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

Quality Improvement

First up provides training and coaching to early childhood programs seeking to improve the quality of their services. Since 1995, first up has assisted over 400 child centers and family child care homes in reaching state (keystone stars) or national accreditation (naeyc or nafcc) standards.

$3.2Mprogram expense
02

Public Policy

First up works to expand pennsylvania's commitment to quality child care initiatives, which are critical to the healthy development of young children, particularly those at risk from the effects of poverty.

$728Kprogram expense
03

Annual Conference

For more than 30 years, First Up has sponsored a professional development conference for the Early Childhood Community in the region. The conference includes presentations by local and national experts in early childhood education.

$259Kprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CFirst Up
EINHdr · item D23-6438144
Principal addressHdr · item CPhiladelphia, PA
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.firstup.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1967
State of legal domicileHdr · item MPA
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFHuman Services (P30)
Ruling yearIRS BMFAug 1968

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a17
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
Executive Director
$150,000Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Carol Austin’s $150K as Executive Director is at the 73rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3863 $1–10M human services 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

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Carol Austin$150,000$134,438
Carol Austin$129,832$129,832$129,299$129,298

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$2.1M · 78%
Program service revenue$280K · 11%
Investment income$231K · 9%
Other revenue$69K · 3%
Contributions & grants78%$2.1M
Program service revenue11%$280K
Investment income9%$231K
Other revenue3%$69K
— government grantsLn 1e$40K
Total revenueLn 12$2.7M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.79 Management & general $0.14 Fundraising $0.07
Program services79%$4.1M
Management & general14%$747K
Fundraising7%$380K
Total functional expensesLn 25$5.3M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$1.1M
Total assetsLn 16$8.5M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$1.1M
Total net assetsLn 32$7.4M
Months of cash on handcomputed2.4

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2024 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $6.1M · Operating expenses/yr $5.3M
14.0 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $4.1M · Total expenses $5.3M
79%
Management & General
Management & general $747K · Total expenses $5.3M
14%
Fundraising
Fundraising $380K · Total expenses $5.3M
7%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense (3-yr avg) $457K · Solicited contributions (3-yr avg) $5.1M
$0.09 to raise $1 (3-yr avg)
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $2.1M · Total revenue $2.7M
78%
Government reliance
Government grants $40K · Total revenue $2.7M
2%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $280K · Total revenue $2.7M
11%
Investment reliance
Investment income $231K · Total revenue $2.7M
+9%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $280K · Total expenses $5.3M
5%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $2.7M · Prior year $5.3M
-50%
Revenue CAGR
FY2019 $6.9M · FY2024 $2.7M
-17%
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $7.4M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $2.7M · Expenses $5.3M
-98%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $8.5M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $7.4M · Total assets $8.5M
87%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $5.1M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $0 · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $8.5M
60%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Carol Austin · Reported title Executive Director · Highest reported compensation $150K · Total expenses $5.3M
3%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $3.4M · Total expenses $5.3M
65%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 79%
Overhead ratio 14%
Fundraising cost ratio 18%
Revenue growth -50%

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 13 funders →
Grants paid · 29 grants · $775K · 2019–2023
Unitemized GrantFY2023$34,000
Hasan's Interactive Learning CenterFY2023$6,000
Unitemized GrantFY2023$4,666
Greater Hope Ministries INCPA · FY2022$55,000
Children's Village INCPA · FY2022$35,000
Unitemized GrantFY2022$30,000
WonderspringPA · FY2022$15,000
Unitemized GrantFY2021$46,489
Children's Village INCPA · FY2021$30,000
The Caring CenterPA · FY2021$20,000
Wescott's Fov Child Care CenterFY2021$7,000
Pearlwood Early Learning CenterFY2021$5,100
Beginning Foundation AcademyFY2021$5,100
Acclaim Academy ProgramFY2021$5,100
Greater Hope Ministries INCPA · FY2020$50,000
Highway Mission TabernaclePA · FY2020$42,250
See all 29 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
FY2024$5.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$9.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$6.4M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$3.6M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2020$6.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2024IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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