Steps Program INC EIN 38-3849052

Steps Program INC FY2021 filing

EIN  38-3849052 Public charity (501(c)(3)) Clarksburg, MD
Form 990 (PDF)
You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →
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Verified accurate 8/26/26 · see original filing: IRS
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Size
$1–10M
What they do
Empowering students with learning challenges through structured post-secondary support and peer services.
Leadership
Aaron Rakow · CEO · $135K
Money in and out
$2.6M revenue, $2.3M expenses
Bottom line
98% program efficiency

Empowering students with learning challenges through structured post-secondary support and peer services. For fiscal year 2021 it reported $2.6M in revenue, $2.3M in expenses, and $1.2M in net assets.Pt I

Where the money goes · FY2021
Total revenue
$2.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expenses (Pt I · Ln 19): $249K
Where spending went · Part IX cols B–D
Program services $0.98 Management & general $0.02 Fundraising $0.00
Program efficiency
98%
of spending reaches programs
Operating runway
7.4mo
months of highly liquid reserves at operating expense rate
Surplus margin
+10%
revenue over expenses, this year

Summary of the Filing

Part I · fiscal year 2021 · Form 990
Revenue
$2.6M
FY2021
Expenses
$2.3M
FY2021
Total assets
$1.7M
FY2021
Total liabilities
$483K
FY2021
Total revenue
$2.6M
Pt VIII · Ln 12
Total expenses
$2.3M
Pt IX · Ln 25
Net assets
$1.2M
Pt X · Ln 32
Revenue less expensesPt I · Ln 19$249K
Total assetsPt X · Ln 16$1.7M
Program-expense ratioPt IX · col B98%
Voting members of governing bodyPt I · Ln 39
Independent voting membersPt I · Ln 47
Mission & Programs · Part III

Where the work happens

1 program service account for $2.3M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

College steps partners with colleges to provide individualized college support for students living with social or learning challenges. College steps offers its support program to students for whom navigating college is challenged by social, academic, or learning barriers.

$2.3Mprogram expense

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Identity & Classification

Form 990 Header · IRS Business Master File
Legal nameHdr · item CSteps Program INC
EINHdr · item D38-3849052
Principal addressHdr · item CClarksburg, MD
WebsiteHdr · item Jwww.collegesteps.org
Year of formationHdr · item Lpending
State of legal domicileHdr · item MMD
Exempt statusHdr · item I501(c)(3) · active
NTEE classificationIRS BMFEducation (B90)
Ruling yearIRS BMFMar 2015

Governance & Policies

Part VI
Voting members of the governing bodyPt VI · Ln 1a9
Independent voting membersPt VI · Ln 1b7
Conflict-of-interest policyPt VI · Ln 12aYes
Whistleblower policyPt VI · Ln 13No
Document retention policyPt VI · Ln 14No
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
$134,762Pt VII · Sec A
$123,379Pt VII · Sec A
$102,869Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Lauren Merritt’s $166K as COO is at the 72nd percentile of top reported officer pay among 3392 $1–10M 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 · 4 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Lauren Merritt$166,417$152,132$143,673$127,920$123,379
Aaron Rakow$107,399$96,674$111,037$127,920$134,762
William Blum$112,838$104,935
Denise Halter$111,797$102,869

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
Program service revenue100%$2.6M
Contributions & grants$1K
Investment income$435
Total revenueLn 12$2.6M

Statement of Functional Expenses

Part IX · allocated across program, management, and fundraising
Allocation · columns B–D
Program services $0.98 Management & general $0.02 Fundraising $0.00
Program services98%$2.3M
Management & general2%$45K
Fundraising$299
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.3M

Balance Sheet

Part X · end of year
CashLn 1$1.4M
Total assetsLn 16$1.7M
Total liabilitiesLn 26$483K
Total net assetsLn 32$1.2M
Months of cash on handcomputed7.4

Financial Metrics

Form 990 · FY2021 · each ratio shown with the dollars behind it
Liquidity & Payout
Operating runway
Highly liquid reserves $1.4M · Operating expenses/yr $2.3M
7.4 months
Where the money goes
Program services
Program services $2.3M · Total expenses $2.3M
98%
Management & General
Management & general $45K · Total expenses $2.3M
2%
Fundraising
Fundraising $299 · Total expenses $2.3M
0%
Cost to raise $1
Fundraising expense $299 · Solicited contributions $1K
Solicited contributions below reporting floor
Where the money comes from
Contribution dependence
Contributions & grants $1K · Total revenue $2.6M
0%
Government reliance
Government grants — · Total revenue $2.6M
Earned-income share
Program service revenue $2.6M · Total revenue $2.6M
100%
Investment reliance
Investment income $435 · Total revenue $2.6M
0%
Program self-sufficiency
Program service revenue $2.6M · Total expenses $2.3M
111%
Growth & trend
Revenue growth (YoY)
This year $2.6M · Prior year —
No prior year on file
Net-asset trend (YoY)
End of year $1.2M · Beginning of year —
Beginning net assets not meaningfully positive — showing dollar change
Balance sheet
Surplus Margin
Revenue $2.6M · Expenses $2.3M
+10%
Liabilities-to-Assets
Total liabilities — · Total assets $1.7M
Net-asset ratio
Net assets $1.2M · Total assets $1.7M
71%
Marketable Investment Share
Publicly traded securities (Pt X, ln 11) — · Other securities (Pt X, ln 12) — · Total assets (Pt X, ln 16) $1.7M
Excludes program-related investments (Pt X, ln 13)
People & payroll
Highest Reported Total Compensation
Individual Aaron Rakow · Reported title CEO · Highest reported compensation $135K · Total expenses $2.3M
6%
Personnel share
Salaries, benefits & payroll (Pt IX 5-10) $2.2M · Total expenses $2.3M
94%
Peer comparison

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

MetricThis orgPeer medianPercentile
Program ratio 98%
Overhead ratio 2%
Fundraising cost ratio 21%
Accounting fee ratio 1%

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.

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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)$3.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2024$3.3M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2023$3.0M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2022$2.8M revenue · ⤓ 990 PDF
FY2021$2.6M 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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