Starting Over Strong

Not tax-deductible

Riverside, CA501(c)(4)Since 2022Civil Rights & AdvocacyEIN 32-0682473Revenue $201K in FY2025

On file with the IRSstartingoverstrong.org6355 Riverside Ave Suite 100 Suite, 92506-3135 · Riverside, CATax-exempt since Feb 2025

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Starting Over Strong (SOS) is dedicated to advocating for individuals re-entering society, ensuring they have access to essential services such as housing, job placement, retraining programs, and addressing food insecurity. We amplify their voices through policy advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and by supporting candidates and organizations that align with our mission. Our vision is a society where every person re-entering society receives the support and resources necessary to rebuild their lives and thrive. Key activities include championing policies that provide comprehensive services, conducting public awareness campaigns, educating voters on critical issues, organizing grassroots mobilization efforts, endorsing and supporting aligned candidates, and lobbying for policies that promote long-term stability and self-sufficiency.

90¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 25 volunteers and 3 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · 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)(4)
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
No
Donations are not tax-deductible
Worth a look: the IRS does not list 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
Spent on programs
90%
of spending
Looks good: 90% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$125K
to officers and key staff · 64% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 57% of similar orgs
Concern: pay to officers and key staff is 64% of spending; over 30%.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
11 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 11.0 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $195K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$0
0% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 0% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
2
of 3 voting members
Looks good: 2 of 3 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$201K
+33% vs prior year
Spent
$195K
To programs
90%
Net assets
$179K
By yearFY2022–FY2025
Revenue
$201K
FY2025▲ +33%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2022$125K
FY2023$125K
FY2024$151K
FY2025$201K
Net assets
$179K
FY2025▲ +3%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2022$87K
FY2023$140K
FY2024$173K
FY2025$179K

From the FY2025 Form 990 · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Feb 2025.

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% · $176K Management & general 10% · $19K

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

5 people listed on the 990; $125K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
Operations Director
$65,000Pt VII · Sec A
President
$30,000Pt VII · Sec A
Campaign Organizer
$29,792Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Nathan P Kempe’s $65K as Operations Director is at the 43rd percentile of top reported officer pay among 1031 $100K–1M civil rights & advocacy 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 · 3 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2023
Nathan P Kempe$65,000—
Vonya Quarles$30,000$27,000
Bianca C Mendoza$29,792—

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 Starting Over Strong 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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Starting Over Strong is a membership association based in Riverside, CA, formed in 2022.

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Provided by the organization

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3 programs · $147K · in their own filed words · FY2025
01

In 2025, Starting Over Strong (SOS) conducted nonpartisan civic education and voter outreach in the Inland Empire to educate and mobilize system-impacted and historically underrepresented communities.

$83Kprogram expense
02

In 2025, Starting Over Strong (SOS) advanced community education and public awareness around law enforcement accountability as a core social welfare function. SOS led the Riverside Sheriff Accountability Coalition (RSAC), a broad network of individuals and organizations that educates residents about in-custody deaths, misconduct, and the…

$37Kprogram expense
03

In 2025, Starting Over Strong (SOS) co-sponsored AB 1201 (Jackson), the ReUNITY Act, to reduce unnecessary family separation in California's child welfare system by replacing blanket exclusions for parents with prior felony convictions with individualized, trauma-informed assessments.

$27Kprogram 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
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$195K
See all 3 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$201K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$200K
Investment incomeLn 3$1K
Money outPt IX
$195K
Ln 25
Programscol B$176K
Managementcol C$19K
Owns and owesPt X
$179K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$179K
Total assetsLn 16$179K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
PeoplePt VI, VII
5
listed · VII A
PaidVII A3
Voting boardVI 1a3
IndependentVI 1b2
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$200K
Government grantsLn 1e$0
Noncash giftsLn 1g$0
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$0
Investment incomeLn 3$1K
Total revenueLn 12$201K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$152K
SavingsLn 2$27K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$179K
Total assetsLn 16$179K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0
Net assetsLn 32$179K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 53
VolunteersI 625
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
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$173K$179K
Total assetsLn 16$173K$179K
LiabilitiesLn 26$0$0
Net assetsLn 32$173K$179K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$0$0
Grants to domestic individualsLn 2$0$0
Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsLn 3$0$0
Benefits paid to or for membersLn 4$0$0
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$30K$24K$6K
Pay of disqualified personsLn 6$0$0
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$95K$85K$9K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$52K$52K
OccupancyLn 16$10K$8K$2K
InsuranceLn 23$4K$3K$800
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$5K$4K$1K
Total functional expensesLn 25$195K$176K$19K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $201K$195K$6K$179K 990 PDF
FY2024 $151K$173K 990 PDF
FY2023 $125K$140K 990 PDF
FY2022 $125K$87K 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 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $201,000 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $150,000$200,000
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $0$0
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $750$1,000
I-11 Other revenue$0
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $150,750$201,000
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 $27,000$124,792
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $127,600$70,350
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $154,600$195,142
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$3,850$5,858
Part VI · Governance 2 of 3 board members independent, 2 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body3
VI-1b Independent voting members2
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsYes
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $201,000 across 11 lines filed
VIII-1a Federated campaigns$0
VIII-1b Membership dues$0
VIII-1c Fundraising events$0
VIII-1d Related organizations$0
VIII-1e Government grants$0
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$200,000
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$0
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$200,000
VIII-3 Investment incomeRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $1,000$1,000
VIII-5 RoyaltiesRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $0$0
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $0 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $1,000$201,000
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $195,142 across 11 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $0$0
IX-2 Grants to domestic individualsPrograms $0$0
IX-3 Grants and assistance to foreign recipientsPrograms $0$0
IX-4 Benefits paid to or for membersPrograms $0$0
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $24,000 · Management $6,000$30,000
IX-6 Pay of disqualified personsPrograms $0$0
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $85,313 · Management $9,479$94,792
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $51,500$51,500
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $7,680 · Management $1,920$9,600
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $3,200 · Management $800$4,000
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $4,200 · Management $1,050$5,250
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $175,893 · Management $19,249 · Fundraising $0$195,142
Part X · Balance sheet $178,808 assets, 6 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $147,200$152,058
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $25,750$26,750
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $172,950$178,808
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $0$0
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $172,950$178,808
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $172,950$178,808
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $178,808 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$201,000
XI-2 Total expenses$195,142
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$5,858
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$172,950
XI-5 Net unrealized gains (losses) on investments$0
XI-6 Donated services and use of facilities$0
XI-7 Investment expenses$0
XI-8 Prior period adjustments$0
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$178,808

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

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