Environmental Charter Schools

Tax-deductible

Gardena, CA501(c)(3)Since 2001EducationEIN 33-0920934Revenue $34.5M in FY2025

On file with the IRSecsonline.org812 W 165th Pl, 90247-5105 · Gardena, CATax-exempt since Mar 2001School — 170(b)(1)(A)(ii)

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To reimagine public education in low-income communities of color to prepare conscious, critical thinkers who are equipped to graduate from college and create a more equitable and sustainable world.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
89¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 100 volunteers and 328 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 $756K a year · 3% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 5 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
89%
of spending
Looks good: 89% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$1.4M
to officers and key staff · 4% of spending
Top officer’s pay lower than 62% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 4% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
3 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 3.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
5
named funders · $104K
Looks good: 5 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$51.3M
78% of total assets
Worth a look: liabilities are 78% of assets; over 65%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
11
of 11 voting members
Looks good: 11 of 11 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$34.5M
+4% vs prior year
Spent
$34.2M
To programs
89%
Net assets
$14.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$34.5M
FY2025▲ +4%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$17.6M
FY2021$19.3M
FY2022$26.2M
FY2023$32.0M
FY2024$33.1M
FY2025$34.5M
Expenses
$34.2M
FY2025▲ +5%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$17.6M
FY2021$17.3M
FY2022$25.0M
FY2023$31.3M
FY2024$32.7M
FY2025$34.2M
Net assets
$14.1M
FY2025▲ +2%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$9.5M
FY2021$11.6M
FY2022$12.8M
FY2023$13.5M
FY2024$13.9M
FY2025$14.1M

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

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Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 2001.

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

Where the money goes

89 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 89% · $30.3M Management & general 11% · $3.9M

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

21 people listed on the 990; $1.4M 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
Superintendent (ending 05/2025)
$202,905Pt VII · Sec A
Superintendent (as of 05/2025)
$173,755Pt VII · Sec A
Principal
$151,937Pt VII · Sec A
$142,025Pt VII · Sec A
$140,380Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Sped & El Development
$136,482Pt VII · Sec A
Director of Growth & Sustainability
$135,669Pt VII · Sec A
Secondary Math Specialist
$133,293Pt VII · Sec A

Farnaz Golshani Flechner’s $203K as Superintendent (ending 05/2025) is at the 38th 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
Farnaz Golshani Flechner$202,905$199,127————
Danielle Kelsick$173,755$162,756$158,421$142,251$106,631$105,418
Farnaz Golshani-Flechner——$172,237$168,356$158,631$140,500
Dave Trejo$151,937$151,310$127,615$124,009$111,184—
Cindy Guardado—$151,842$136,771———
Qiana O'Leary—————$142,280
Amy Johnson$142,025—————
Lucia Banuelos$140,380$136,407————

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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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

Operates four public charter schools for students in grades 6-12.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $30.3M · in their own filed words · FY2024
01

Environmental charter schools (ecs) is comprised of four public charter schools serving grades 6-12 located in the south bay and south la communities of lawndale, inglewood, and gardena. The ecs approach focuses on college preparation and environmental and community engagement through interdisciplinary instruction, small learning…

$30.3Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
NaturebridgeFY2024$39K
Total grants receivedfrom 5 funders$104K
See all 5 funders →
Grants paid · 2 grants · $3.3M · 2022–2023
Menlo Charter PropertiesCA · FY2023$650,000
Menlo Charter PropertiesCA · FY2022$2,608,437

By the numbers

The FY2025 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$34.5M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$33.8M
Other incomeLn 4–11$241K
Investment incomeLn 3$231K
Money outPt IX
$34.2M
Ln 25
Programscol B$30.3M
Managementcol C$3.9M
Owns and owesPt X
$14.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$8.9M
Total assetsLn 16$65.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$51.3M
PeoplePt VI, VII
21
listed · VII A
PaidVII A10
Voting boardVI 1a11
IndependentVI 1b11
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$33.8M
Government grantsLn 1e$33.6M
Fees for servicesLn 2g$217K
Investment incomeLn 3$231K
Other incomeLn 4–11$241K
Total revenueLn 12$34.5M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$3.5M
SavingsLn 2$5.4M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$8.9M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$4.2M
Other assetsLn 15$47.0M
Total assetsLn 16$65.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$51.3M
Net assetsLn 32$14.1M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 5328
VolunteersI 6100
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 FY25End FY25
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$8.7M$8.9M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$3.8M$4.2M
Total assetsLn 16$67.3M$65.4M
LiabilitiesLn 26$53.4M$51.3M
Net assetsLn 32$13.9M$14.1M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$591K$473K$118K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$17.1M$16.3M$791K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$2.7M$2.6M$100K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$1.9M$1.8M$75K
Payroll taxesLn 10$844K$822K$22K
Legal feesLn 11b$162K$162K
Accounting feesLn 11c$175K$42K$133K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$2.4M$2.0M$442K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$17K$11K$5K
Office expensesLn 13$160K$136K$24K
Information technologyLn 14$65K$65K
OccupancyLn 16$3.5M$2.0M$1.5M
TravelLn 17$23K$23K
Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19$193K$193K
InterestLn 20$386$386
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$221K$166K$55K
InsuranceLn 23$175K$175K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$4.0M$3.7M$311K
Total functional expensesLn 25$34.2M$30.3M$3.9M$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest Viewing $34.5M$34.2M$240K$14.1M 990 PDF
FY2024 $33.1M$32.7M$381K$13.9M 990 PDF
FY2023 $32.0M$31.3M$727K$13.5M 990 PDF
FY2022 $26.2M$25.0M$1.2M$12.8M 990 PDF
FY2021 $19.3M$17.3M$2.1M$11.6M 990 PDF
FY2020 $17.6M$17.6M−$20K$9.5M 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 $34,465,099 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $32,665,268$33,776,786
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $207,985$216,865
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $197,911$230,805
I-11 Other revenuePrior year $8,752$240,643
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $33,079,916$34,465,099
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $650,000$0
I-14 Benefits paid to membersPrior year $0$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $21,820,212$23,095,365
I-16a Professional fundraising feesPrior year $0$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $10,228,402$11,129,358
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $32,698,614$34,224,723
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year $381,302$240,376
Part VI · Governance 11 of 11 board members independent, no flags
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body11
VI-1b Independent voting members11
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 $34,465,099 across 7 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$33,613,132
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$163,654
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$33,776,786
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $216,865$216,865
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $230,805$230,805
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $88,588 · Excluded from tax $152,055$240,643
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $305,453 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $382,860$34,465,099
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $34,224,723 across 18 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $473,030 · Management $118,258$591,288
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $16,339,725 · Management $791,074$17,130,799
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $2,557,635 · Management $100,016$2,657,651
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $1,796,505 · Management $74,853$1,871,358
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $822,168 · Management $22,101$844,269
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $161,945$161,945
IX-11c Accounting feesPrograms $41,889 · Management $132,814$174,703
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $1,964,032 · Management $442,136$2,406,168
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $11,472 · Management $5,263$16,735
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $135,793 · Management $24,241$160,034
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $65,195$65,195
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $2,018,732 · Management $1,473,538$3,492,270
IX-17 TravelPrograms $23,339$23,339
IX-19 Conferences, conventions and meetingsPrograms $192,669$192,669
IX-20 InterestManagement $386$386
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $165,751 · Management $55,252$221,003
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $174,859$174,859
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $3,728,733 · Management $311,319$4,040,052
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $30,336,668 · Management $3,888,055 · Fundraising $0$34,224,723
Part X · Balance sheet $65,355,042 assets, 16 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $3,472,020$3,533,129
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $5,248,887$5,396,092
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $5,920,524$4,816,426
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $221,403$364,922
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $3,808,542$4,201,932
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $48,593,402$47,042,541
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $67,264,778$65,355,042
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $1,774,442$2,442,840
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $3,502,282$2,564,344
X-24 Unsecured notes and loans payableStart of year $150,004$100,000
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $47,978,341$46,147,773
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $53,405,069$51,254,957
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $13,837,527$14,080,903
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $22,182$19,182
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $13,859,709$14,100,085
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $67,264,778$65,355,042
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $14,100,085 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$34,465,099
XI-2 Total expenses$34,224,723
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$240,376
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$13,859,709
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$14,100,085

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

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