Start Early EIN 36-3186328

Start Early FY2021 filing

EIN  36-3186328 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Chicago, IL Founded 1982
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →
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Verified accurate 7/6/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$100M+
What they do
Provides high-quality early learning programs, research, and advocacy from birth to age five to help close the opportunity gap for underserved families.
Leadership
Mr Michael Hoffman · Chief Operating Officer · $265K
Money in and out
$70.5M revenue, $74.3M expenses
Bottom line
87% program efficiency

Provides high-quality early learning programs, research, and advocacy from birth to age five to help close the opportunity gap for underserved families. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $70.5M in revenue, $74.3M in expenses, and $62.7M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$70.5M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$74.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$62.7M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): −$3.9M
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.87 Management & general $0.09 Fundraising $0.03
Program efficiency
87%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
7.7mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
-5%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$70.5M
FY2021
Expenses
$74.3M
FY2021
Total assets
$84.3M
FY2021
Total liabilities
$21.6M
FY2021
Total revenue
$70.5M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$74.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$62.7M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19−$3.9M
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$84.3M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B87%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 334
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 434
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

3 program services account for $42.8M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Start Early provides high-quality early childhood services for low-income children, birth to age five, and their families as well as services to pregnant women, through a multi-site network of early head start and head start directly-operated programs, and partner and delegate agencies, in high-needs communities throughout Chicago and…

$24.4Mprogram expense
02

Start Early's Home Visiting and Doula Network annually reaches approximately 1,900 at-risk young children, pregnant women and their families through our statewide network of home visiting and Doula services.

$11.3Mprogram expense
03

See Schedule OThe Quality, Solutions, and Impact programs connect early childhood professionals with the tools and knowledge they need to deliver strong child outcomes. Our portfolio of solutions translates field-tested approaches to training early childhood educations into research-validated professional development offerings.

$7.1Mprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CStart Early
EINHdr · item D36-3186328
Principal addressHdr · item CChicago, IL
WebsiteHdr · item Jstartearly.org
Year of formationHdr · item L1982
State of legal domicileHdr · item MIL
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFNonprofit
Ruling yearIRS BMFJul 1982

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a34
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b34
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13Yes
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14Yes
CEO/top-official compensation independently reviewedPt VI · Ln 15aYes
Family or business relationships among officers/directorsPt VI · Ln 2No

Officers, Directors & Key Employees

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Chief Operating Officer
$264,690Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Director, Ffyf
$247,186Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Advancement Officer
$247,000Pt VII · Sec A
Senior Vice President
$242,983Pt VII · Sec A
Executive Director, Eln
$227,048Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President, Development
$220,553Pt VII · Sec A
Chief Learning Officer
$214,227Pt VII · Sec A
Senior Vice President
$207,252Pt VII · Sec A

Compensation history total reportable pay by year · 8 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Mr Michael Hoffman$384,024$300,023$309,395$264,690
Michael Hoffman$360,286
Sarah Rittling$343,426
Donna Iwanski$333,728
Ms Daphne Logan$307,761$238,508$246,056$207,252
Ms Aisha Gayle Turner$307,328
Aisha Gayle Turner$292,576
Ms Rebecca Berlin$270,008$290,073$214,227

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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Statement of Revenue

Part VIII
Contributions & grants$67.8M · 96%
Program service revenue$1.3M · 2%
Investment income$1.5M · 2%
Contributions & grants96%$67.8M
Program service revenue2%$1.3M
Investment income2%$1.5M
— government grantsLn 1e$40.7M
Total revenueLn 12$70.5M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.87 Management & general $0.09 Fundraising $0.03
Program services87%$65.0M
Management & general9%$6.9M
Fundraising3%$2.4M
Total functional expensesLn 25$74.3M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$16.4M
Total assetsLn 16$84.3M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$21.6M
Total net assetsLn 32$62.7M
Months of cash on handcomputed2.6

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $47.4M · Operating expenses/yr $74.3M
7.7 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $65.0M · Total expenses $74.3M
87%
Management & General
Management & general $6.9M · Total expenses $74.3M
9%
Fundraising
Fundraising $2.4M · Total expenses $74.3M
3%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense $2.4M · Solicited contributions $27.1M
$0.09 to raise $1
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $67.8M · Total revenue $70.5M
96%
Government reliance
Government grants $40.7M · Total revenue $70.5M
58%
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $1.3M · Total revenue $70.5M
2%
Investment reliance
Investment income $1.5M · Total revenue $70.5M
+2%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $1.3M · Total expenses $74.3M
2%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $70.5M · Prior year —
No prior year on file
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $62.7M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $70.5M · Expenses $74.3M
-5%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $84.3M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $62.7M · Total assets $84.3M
74%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) $29.3M · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) $1.8M · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $84.3M
37%
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Mr Michael Hoffman · Reported title Chief Operating Officer · Highest reported compensation $265K · Total expenses $74.3M
0%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $36.6M · Total expenses $74.3M
49%
Fundraising vendors
Fundraiser cost ratio
Paid to fundraisers $60K · Gross raised $1.3M
5%
Peer comparison

Same NTEE category, revenue band, and state where available. Descriptive — not a grade.

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 87%
Overhead ratio 9%
Fundraising cost ratio 4%
Investment management fee ratio 0%
Legal fee ratio 0%
Accounting fee ratio 0%
Fundraising fee ratio 0%

Straight from the Form 990 — descriptive, not an evaluation. A ratio is hidden when its base is zero or too small to be meaningful; the dollars are always shown.

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2025
Total grants receivedfrom 5 funders$3.8M
See all 5 funders →
Grants paid · 275 grants · $159.7M · 2020–2024
Chicago Child Care SocietyIL · FY2024$3,284,713
One Hope UnitedIL · FY2024$2,456,810
Family Focus LegacyIL · FY2024$2,288,127
Sga Youth & Family Services NfpIL · FY2024$1,412,403
The Children's Place AssociationIL · FY2024$1,090,150
United Methodist Children's HomeIL · FY2024$918,350
Metropolitan Family ServicesIL · FY2024$738,483
First Step Child Care CenterFY2024$650,060
See all 275 grants →

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Filings & Schedule Manifest

Part IV
III · Programs I · Grants R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support F · Foreign M · Noncash
FY2025 (Latest)$115.2M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$134.9M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$120.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$92.1M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$70.5M revenue · viewing · ⤓ 990 PDF

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Sources

Every figure above is drawn from these filings
Form 990 e-file (XML) · FY2021IRS
Classification, formation year, addressIRS Business Master File
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