Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jan 2011.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
83 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
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
20 people listed on the 990; $2.3M paid to officers and key staff.
Recy Dunn’s $335K as Chief Executive Officer - Thru 5/2025 is at the 71st 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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steven Wilson | — | — | $135,402 | $150,000 | — | $714,485 |
| Susan Pollock | — | — | — | — | $21,238 | $398,078 |
| Lisa Margosian | — | — | — | $140,675 | $345,678 | — |
| Recy Dunn | $334,649 | $324,270 | $323,351 | $208,182 | — | — |
| Emeka Ibekweh | — | — | — | — | $316,047 | $307,515 |
| Andrew Epstein Chief | — | — | — | — | $304,484 | — |
| Maryann Li | $296,929 | $262,056 | $243,426 | $103,428 | — | — |
| Brandon Sorlie | — | — | — | — | $252,031 | $265,191 |
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
Helps charter schools with education, management, and facility development.
Questions for Ascend Learning INC
Your first name shows with your question. Ascend Learning INC answers here, for everyone.
Know this org? Add your story
Ascend learning, inc. Operates as a charter management organization based in new york city and provides management and development services and facility development services for ascend charter schools, an education corporation comprised of nine charter schools.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2025 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY25 | End FY25 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $7.5M | $7.6M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $3.8M | $2.7M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $17.0M | $17.7M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $3.4M | $2.6M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $13.6M | $15.1M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $1.4M | $1.4M | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $1.5M | $1.3M | $122K | $61K |
| Pay of disqualified personsLn 6 | $141K | $141K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $7.7M | $6.9M | $488K | $315K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $121K | $106K | $10K | $5K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $545K | $480K | $43K | $22K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $870K | $766K | $70K | $35K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $46K | $46K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $30K | $30K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $1.4M | $244K | $1.2M | $4 |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $762K | $686K | $76K | |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $410K | $299K | $110K | $2K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $185K | $171K | $10K | $4K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $415K | $373K | $42K | |
| TravelLn 17 | $162K | $139K | $15K | $8K |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $4K | $4K | $431 | |
| InterestLn 20 | $1K | $1K | $111 | $55 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $1.1M | $944K | $86K | $43K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $84K | $74K | $7K | $3K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $1.1M | $1.1M | $19K | |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $882 | $882 | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $18.1M | $15.1M | $2.5M | $497K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $19.6M | $18.1M | $1.5M | $15.1M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $19.0M | $18.9M | $138K | $13.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $29.0M | $24.0M | $4.9M | $14.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $19.9M | $16.5M | $3.4M | $9.7M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $20.2M | $16.0M | $4.3M | $6.3M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 | $18.5M | $17.5M | $1.1M | $2.0M | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $19,602,469 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 8 of 8 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $19,602,469 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $18,106,272 across 21 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $17,723,163 assets, 14 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $15,133,817 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2025 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
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