Challenge Preparatory Charter School

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To prepare students to gain admission to and succeed in competitive high schools.

Form 990 Part I, line 1, FY2025. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 27-2203903) · Dispute this line
501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
90¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 8 volunteers and 162 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
Listed by the IRS and not on the revocation list.
IRS BMF · Auto-Revocation List
Tax-deductible gifts
Yes
Donations are tax-deductible
The IRS lists gifts to it as deductible.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS BMF
Latest return
FY2025
latest Form 990
The latest return is for FY2025, 1 tax year back.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
2 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $920K a year · 4% of revenue · last 6 filings
A surplus in 2 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
90%
of spending
90% of spending went to programs.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.8M
to officers and key staff · 6% of spending
Pay to officers and key staff is 6% of spending.
Part VII, Section A
1.5 mo
of spending, in cash
1.5 months of spending in cash.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $572K
1 funder names it on their filings.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$94.0M
104% of total assets
Liabilities are 104% of assets.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
7
of 7 voting members
7 of 7 voting members are independent.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Revenue
$29.6M
+0.2% vs prior year
Spent
$32.1M
To programs
90%
Net assets
−$3.4M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$29.6M
FY2025+0.2%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$16.3M
FY2021$17.6M
FY2022$22.9M
FY2023$27.1M
FY2024$29.5M
FY2025$29.6M
Expenses
$32.1M
FY2025▲ +4%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$15.1M
FY2021$16.0M
FY2022$25.9M
FY2023$28.7M
FY2024$30.7M
FY2025$32.1M
Net assets
−$3.4M
FY2025▼ -255%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$2.0M
FY2021$3.6M
FY2022$1.9M
FY2023$198K
FY2024−$969K
FY2025−$3.4M

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

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 2013.

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

Where the money goes

90 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 90% · $28.9M Management & general 10% · $3.1M Fundraising 0% · $68K

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

17 people listed on the 990; $1.8M paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
SR. Director, Teaching & Learning
$289,265Pt VII · Sec A
$272,907Pt VII · Sec A
SR. Director, Teaching & Learning
$209,340Pt VII · Sec A
Assistant Principal
$175,144Pt VII · Sec A
Pupil Personnel Services
$159,183Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Finance
$158,405Pt VII · Sec A
Principal
$152,668Pt VII · Sec A
Assistant Principal
$140,705Pt VII · Sec A

Mavgar Mondesir-Gordon’s $289K as SR. Director, Teaching & Learning is at the 62nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $10–100M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Mavgar Mondesir-Gordon$289,265$254,159$258,692$175,601$168,535$146,646
Dr Leslie Mullings$272,907$267,104$246,113$161,737$216,804$201,784
Kentia Coreus$209,340$204,960$182,328$120,702$153,395—
Nicole Griffin—$179,011$168,570$111,641$155,909$154,606
Humma Qureshi$175,144$148,737————
Tameeka Richards Director of$159,183$151,147————
Donna Webster$158,405$133,651————
Gasner Vil$152,668$134,945————

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 Challenge Preparatory Charter School 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 15aYes

Programs and updates

Helps students prepare for and succeed in competitive high schools.

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1 program · $28.9M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

The mission of Challenge Preparatory Charter School (Challenge) is to prepare students from the greater far rockaway community to excel academically, to demonstrate mastery of the nys and next generation learning standards and to achieve their career aspirations.

Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2024. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 27-2203903) · Dispute this line
$28.9Mprogram 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
50can INCFY2024$572K
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$572K

Federal money

Single Audit · Federal Audit Clearinghouse · money spent from federal programs
Year ending Jun 2024 · $897K federal money spent
Charter SchoolsDepartment of Education · ALN 84.282 · Through New York State Education Department$461K
Title I Grants to Local Educational AgenciesDepartment of Education · ALN 84.010 · Through New York State Education Department$182K
Education Stabilization FundDepartment of Education · ALN 84.425 · Through New York State Education Department$178K
Improving Teacher Quality State GrantsDepartment of Education · ALN 84.367 · Through New York State Education Department$36K
Special Education_grants to StatesDepartment of Education · ALN 84.027 · Through New York State Education Department$24K

Plus 1 smaller program.

The auditor reported no findings.

Year ending Jun 2023 · $1.5M federal money spent
Education Stabilization FundDepartment of Education · ALN 84.425 · Through New York State Education Department$887K
Charter SchoolsDepartment of Education · ALN 84.282 · Through New York State Education Department$429K
Title I Grants to Local Educational AgenciesDepartment of Education · ALN 84.010 · Through New York State Education Department$185K
Improving Teacher Quality State GrantsDepartment of Education · ALN 84.367 · Through New York State Education Department$32K
Student Support and Academic Enrichment ProgramDepartment of Education · ALN 84.424 · Through New York State Education Department$14K

The auditor reported no findings.

Year ending Jun 2022 · $1.3M federal money spent
Education Stabilization FundDepartment of Education · ALN 84.425 · Through New York State Education Department and 1 more$1.0M
Title I Grants to Local Educational AgenciesDepartment of Education · ALN 84.010 · Through New York State Education Department$206K
Improving Teacher Quality State GrantsDepartment of Education · ALN 84.367 · Through New York State Education Department$39K
Student Support and Academic Enrichment ProgramDepartment of Education · ALN 84.424 · Through New York State Education Department$26K

The auditor reported no findings.

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$29.6M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$28.3M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$48K
Money outPt IX
$32.1M
Ln 25
Programscol B$28.9M
Managementcol C$3.1M
Fundraisingcol D$68K
Owns and owesPt X
−$3.4M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$3.9M
Total assetsLn 16$90.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$94.0M
PeoplePt VI, VII
17
listed · VII A
PaidVII A10
Voting boardVI 1a7
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$1.3M
Government grantsLn 1e$691K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$77K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$28.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$48K
Other incomeLn 4–11$12K
Total revenueLn 12$29.6M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$2.8M
SavingsLn 2$1.2M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$3.9M
Pledges and grants receivableLn 3$266K
Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesLn 9$933K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$826K
Other assetsLn 15$84.6M
Total assetsLn 16$90.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$94.0M
Net assetsLn 32−$3.4M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5162
VolunteersI 68
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3More from this return
Abroad and in kindSch F, M
Noncash gifts receivedSch M Pt I$77K
4Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$4.0M$3.9M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$1.0M$826K
Total assetsLn 16$94.8M$90.6M
LiabilitiesLn 26$95.8M$94.0M
Net assetsLn 32−$969K−$3.4M
5Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5$1.3M$735K$515K$14K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$83K$75K$8K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$14.0M$12.9M$1.0M$10K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$272K$253K$20K$257
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.2M$1.1M$74K$125
Payroll taxesLn 10$1.4M$1.3M$138K$2K
Legal feesLn 11b$49K$49K
Accounting feesLn 11c$31K$31K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$15K$15K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$2.4M$2.3M$177K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2K$2K
Office expensesLn 13$360K$308K$40K$12K
Information technologyLn 14$383K$348K$35K$572
OccupancyLn 16$8.4M$7.6M$832K$12K
InterestLn 20$7K$7K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$476K$428K$48K
InsuranceLn 23$304K$274K$30K$449
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$1.1M$1.1M$32K$480
All other expensesLn 24e$165K$128K$36K$9
Total functional expensesLn 25$32.1M$28.9M$3.1M$68K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest ViewingFiled with the IRS Feb 26, 2026 $29.6M$32.1M−$2.5M−$3.4M 990 PDF
FY2024Filed with the IRS Mar 6, 2025 $29.5M$30.7M−$1.2M−$969K 990 PDF
FY2023Filed with the IRS Apr 24, 2024 $27.1M$28.7M−$1.7M$198K 990 PDF
FY2022Filed with the IRS May 1, 2023 $22.9M$25.9M−$3.0M$1.9M 990 PDF
FY2021Filed with the IRS May 16, 2022 $17.6M$16.0M$1.6M$3.6M 990 PDF
FY2020Filed with the IRS May 17, 2021 $16.3M$15.1M$1.2M$2.0M 990 PDF

Schedules filed Part IV

A · Public support I · Grants J · Pay M · Noncash O · Explanations
See the full FY2025 990
Part I · Summary $29,576,022 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $1,905,969$1,264,503
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $27,534,820$28,251,902
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $51,643$47,665
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $22,785$11,952
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $29,515,217$29,576,022
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 $17,463,420$18,242,419
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $147,000$15,173
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $13,071,779$13,793,353
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $30,682,199$32,050,945
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$1,166,982−$2,474,923
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body7
VI-1b Independent voting members7
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 $29,576,022 across 8 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$690,538
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$573,965
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$76,917
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$1,264,503
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $28,251,902$28,251,902
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $47,665$47,665
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Excluded from tax $11,952$11,952
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $28,251,902 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $59,617$29,576,022
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $32,050,945 across 19 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Programs $735,463 · Management $515,192 · Fundraising $14,220$1,264,875
IX-6 Pay of disqualified personsPrograms $74,539 · Management $8,139$82,678
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $12,948,008 · Management $1,040,472 · Fundraising $10,234$13,998,714
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $252,677 · Management $19,523 · Fundraising $257$272,457
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,141,645 · Management $74,089 · Fundraising $125$1,215,859
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $1,267,450 · Management $138,312 · Fundraising $2,074$1,407,836
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $48,640$48,640
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $31,013$31,013
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $15,173$15,173
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $2,258,722 · Management $177,462$2,436,184
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $2,500$2,500
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $307,612 · Management $40,049 · Fundraising $11,981$359,642
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $347,984 · Management $34,607 · Fundraising $572$383,163
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $7,591,110 · Management $831,864 · Fundraising $12,445$8,435,419
IX-20 InterestManagement $6,885$6,885
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $428,094 · Management $47,566$475,660
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $273,633 · Management $29,940 · Fundraising $449$304,022
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $1,113,011 · Management $32,145 · Fundraising $480$1,145,636
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $128,313 · Management $36,267 · Fundraising $9$164,589
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $28,870,761 · Management $3,112,165 · Fundraising $68,019$32,050,945
Part X · Balance sheet $90,594,036 assets, 14 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $2,850,466$2,776,385
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $1,119,084$1,166,749
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $911,776$265,908
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $768,474$933,331
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $1,047,499$826,496
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $88,115,707$84,625,167
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $94,813,006$90,594,036
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $2,335,666$2,620,811
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $39,214$464,047
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $93,407,174$90,953,149
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $95,782,054$94,038,007
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year −$969,048−$3,443,971
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year −$969,048−$3,443,971
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $94,813,006$90,594,036
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$3,443,971 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$29,576,022
XI-2 Total expenses$32,050,945
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$2,474,923
XI-4 Net assets at start of year−$969,048
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year−$3,443,971

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

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