Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Nov 1973.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
72 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.
Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.
Something off? Claim to add context
Who runs it and what they're paid
8 people listed on the 990; $53K paid to officers and key staff (Part VII, Section A).
Mary Sue Wilson’s $84K as Executive Dir. is at the 21st 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mary Sue Wilson | $84,416 | $108,283 | $108,283 | — | — | — |
| Sue Wilson | — | — | — | $55,069 | $54,124 | $52,684 |
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 First Step 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
Offers affordable childcare for low-income families.
Questions for First Step
Your first name shows with your question. First Step answers here, for everyone.
The purpose of the center is to promote and encourage the optimal intellectual, social, and physical development of children through education for children of boone county, city of rockford, and city of mchenry including, but not limited to those children of families with limited income.
Form 990 Part III, line 4, FY2019. The organization’s own words, as filed with the IRS. Find it at the IRS (EIN 36-2740242) · Dispute this lineFunders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $30K | $36K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $33K | $26K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $63K | $63K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $22K | $158K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $41K | −$95K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of officers and key staff (Part IX, line 5)Ln 5 | $53K | $53K | ||
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $550K | $343K | $104K | $104K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $54K | $37K | $8K | $8K |
| Legal feesLn 11b | $2K | $2K | ||
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $16K | $16K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $5K | $5K | ||
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $10K | $8K | $2K | |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $60K | $60K | $169 | |
| TravelLn 17 | $3K | $3K | ||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $444 | $200 | $244 | |
| InterestLn 20 | $3K | $3K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $6K | $6K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $74K | $73K | $810 | |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $839K | $608K | $120K | $112K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 LatestFiled with the IRS Feb 25, 2026 | $1.1M | $1.0M | $39K | −$45K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024Filed with the IRS Jul 23, 2025 | $895K | $927K | −$32K | −$84K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS May 15, 2024 | $993K | $1.0M | −$13K | −$16K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $892K | $919K | −$27K | −$3K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Mar 7, 2022 | $961K | $841K | $119K | $24K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Feb 5, 2021 | $703K | $839K | −$136K | −$95K | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990
Part I · Summary $702,668 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 7 of 7 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $702,668 across 7 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $839,168 across 15 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $62,602 assets, 10 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets −$95,436 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file FY2020 from the IRS (about our sources) · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit
The names, titles, and financial information shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records. More
Philanthropy.org does not alter the content of those filings. All information appears exactly as reported by the filing organization for the tax year shown. A filing can only be corrected by the organization filing an amended return with the IRS; the corrected information appears here at our next update.
We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing, and less than the filing contains. Our pages do not display home addresses, telephone numbers, personal email addresses, or other personal contact information, even where the filing includes them.
Many people share the same name. A name shown on this page reflects only what one organization reported in one IRS filing for one tax year. It should not be interpreted as identifying any other individual with the same or a similar name.
If you are no longer affiliated with the organization, your name will generally stop appearing in future IRS filings once the organization no longer reports you. Pages for tax years in which you were reported remain published because those filings remain part of the public record.
Philanthropy.org does not alter or remove IRS filing records. Removing a page from this website would not remove the underlying IRS filing, which remains publicly available from the IRS and other publishers of the same information.
If you believe the IRS filing itself is inaccurate, contact the filing organization or the IRS directly.