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Rise Above Foundation FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Northbridge, MA501(c)(3)Human ServicesEIN 27-1409946Revenue $571K in FY2021

On file with the IRSweriseabove.orgPo Box 174, 01534-0174 · Northbridge, MATax-exempt since Apr 2010Publicly supported charity — 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)

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Founded in 2009, Rise Above Foundation, INC. Provided massachusetts children in foster care with access to enriching activities, opportunities, and experiences. The organization responds to the growing need to give youth in foster care opportunities that provide them with a sense of normalcy, provide comfort and build self-esteem. By funding individual wishes for request like karate, laptops, prom expenses and clarinet lessons, Rise Above provides positive experiences for foster children. Since its inception, the organization has served over 10,000 massachusetts youth, including 1,800 in the last year.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
76¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$64K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · 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 $42K a year · 5% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 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
$64K
to officers and key staff · 14% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 14% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
8 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 8.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $52K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$9K
3% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 3% 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
$571K
+4% vs prior year
Spent
$447K
To programs
76%
Net assets
$300K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$571K
FY2021▲ +4%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$549K
FY2021$571K
FY2022$813K
FY2023$818K
FY2024$730K
FY2025$1.1M
Expenses
$447K
FY2021▲ +3%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$435K
FY2021$447K
FY2022$693K
FY2023$773K
FY2024$912K
FY2025$1.0M
Net assets
$300K
FY2021▲ +70%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$176K
FY2021$300K
FY2022$421K
FY2023$466K
FY2024$283K
FY2025$313K

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Apr 2010.

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% · $340K Management & general 14% · $63K Fundraising 10% · $44K

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; $64K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Sarah Baldiga
Executive Director
$63,600Pt VII · Sec A
Marcela Blue
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Leo Ferrante
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Wade Sulzman
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Sarah Baldiga’s $93K as Executive Director is at the 29th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3868 $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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Sarah Baldiga$93,305$78,113$79,076$62,000$63,600$64,805

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 Rise Above Foundation 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

Funds enriching activities and experiences for Massachusetts children in foster care.

Questions for Rise Above Foundation

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $340K · in their own filed words · FY2020
01

Founded in 2009, rise above foundation, inc. Provided massachusetts children in foster care with access to enriching activities, opportunities, and experiences. The organization responds to the growing need to give youth in foster care opportunities that provide them with a sense of normalcy, provide comfort and build self-esteem.

$340Kprogram 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 · FY2025
Reliant Foundation INCFY2025$25K
Greater Worcester Community Foundation INCFY2025$21K
United Way of Central Massachusetts INCFY2025$6K
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$52K
See all 3 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

Download 990
from philanthropy.org
1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$571K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$571K
Other incomeLn 4–11$261
Money outPt IX
$447K
Ln 25
Programscol B$340K
Managementcol C$63K
Fundraisingcol D$44K
Owns and owesPt X
$300K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$303K
Total assetsLn 16$309K
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$571K
Other incomeLn 4–11$261
Total revenueLn 12$571K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$303K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$303K
Total assetsLn 16$309K
LiabilitiesLn 26$9K
Net assetsLn 32$300K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 53
VolunteersI 630
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
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 FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$176K$303K
Total assetsLn 16$176K$309K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$9K
Net assetsLn 32$176K$300K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$68K$14K$20K$34K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$31K$30K$1K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$2K$885$418$722
Payroll taxesLn 10$8K$3K$2K$3K
Accounting feesLn 11c$31K$31K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$1K$512$242$418
Office expensesLn 13$11K$7K$4K
TravelLn 17$985$492$493
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$191$191
InsuranceLn 23$2K$2K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$292K$292K$269
Total functional expensesLn 25$447K$340K$63K$44K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $1.1M$1.0M$29K$313K 990 PDF
FY2024 $730K$912K−$182K$283K 990 PDF
FY2023 $818K$773K$45K$466K 990 PDF
FY2022 $813K$693K$121K$421K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $571K$447K$124K$300K 990 PDF
FY2020 $549K$435K$113K$176K 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 FY2021 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $571,283 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $551,140$571,022
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $0$0
I-11 Other revenuePrior year −$2,392$261
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $548,748$571,283
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $0$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $123,328$108,536
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $311,952$338,744
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $435,280$447,280
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $113,468$124,003
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 $571,283 across 4 lines filed
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$571,022
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$571,022
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $261$261
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $261 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$571,283
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $447,280 across 11 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $13,600 · Management $20,400 · Fundraising $34,000$68,000
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $29,653 · Fundraising $1,287$30,940
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $885 · Management $418 · Fundraising $722$2,025
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $3,310 · Management $1,561 · Fundraising $2,700$7,571
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $30,750$30,750
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $512 · Management $242 · Fundraising $418$1,172
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $7,108 · Fundraising $4,330$11,438
IX-17 TravelPrograms $492 · Fundraising $493$985
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsManagement $191$191
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $2,204$2,204
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $291,735 · Management $269$292,004
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $340,187 · Management $63,143 · Fundraising $43,950$447,280
Part X · Balance sheet $309,494 assets, 9 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $176,241$302,662
X-4 Accounts receivable$6,832
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $176,241$309,494
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expenses$9,250
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$9,250
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $156,241$187,844
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $20,000$112,400
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $176,241$300,244
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $176,241$309,494
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $300,244 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$571,283
XI-2 Total expenses$447,280
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$124,003
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$176,241
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$300,244

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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