Rethinking Schools Limited FY2021 filing

Tax-deductible

Milwaukee, WI501(c)(3)EducationEIN 39-1696524

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Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization dedicated to sustaining and strengthening public education through social justice teaching and education activism. Our magazine, books, and other resources promote equity and racial justice in the classroom. We encourage grassroots efforts in our Schools and communities to enhance the learning and well being of our children, and to build broad democratic movements for social and environmental justice.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
73¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$114K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2021 · 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
4 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $31K a year · 3% of revenue · last 6 filings
Fine: a surplus in 4 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
73%
of spending
Fine: 73% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$114K
to officers and key staff · 9% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 9% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.2 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
6
named funders · $192K
Looks good: 6 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$184K
21% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 21% of assets; 50% or less.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
7
of 9 voting members
Looks good: 7 of 9 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$1.5M
+31% vs prior year
Spent
$1.3M
To programs
73%
Net assets
$699K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$1.5M
FY2021▲ +31%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$1.1M
FY2021$1.5M
FY2022$1.0M
FY2023$888K
FY2024$1.1M
FY2025$1.0M
Expenses
$1.3M
FY2021▲ +28%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.0M
FY2021$1.3M
FY2022$1.2M
FY2023$1.1M
FY2024$1.0M
FY2025$842K
Net assets
$699K
FY2021▲ +39%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$504K
FY2021$699K
FY2022$539K
FY2023$299K
FY2024$377K
FY2025$560K

From the FY2021 Form 990 (year ending June 2021) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2021 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2025) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Aug 1991.

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

Where the money goes

73 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 73% · $952K Management & general 21% · $276K Fundraising 6% · $73K

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

9 people listed on the 990; $114K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2020); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
$56,870Pt VII · Sec A
Business Mgr
$56,870Pt VII · Sec A
Vice President
$750Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
President
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Director
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Cierra Kaler-Jones’s $91K as Executive Director is at the 25th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3394 $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 · 5 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2025FY2024FY2022FY2021FY2020
Cierra Kaler-Jones$90,578$94,231———
Ari Bloomekatz———$56,870$47,351
Gina Palazzari———$56,870$46,304
Linda Christensen——$1,000——
Ursula Wolfe-Rocca——$750$750—

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 Rethinking Schools Limited executive salaries →

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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 2Yes
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aNo

Programs and updates

Promotes social justice teaching and activism to strengthen public education and foster equity.

Provided by the organization

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1 program service account for $952K of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2020.
01

Rethinking schools published teacher unions and social justice, its quarterly magazine, rethinking schools, and has 30 other titles in circulation.

$952Kprogram expense

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Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · funders on record
Grants received · FY2024
See all 6 funders →

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$1.5M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$880K
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$601K
Other incomeLn 4–11$15K
Money outPt IX
$1.3M
Ln 25
Programscol B$952K
Managementcol C$276K
Fundraisingcol D$73K
Owns and owesPt X
$699K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$668K
Total assetsLn 16$883K
LiabilitiesLn 26$184K
PeoplePt VI, VII
9
listed · VII A
PaidVII A3
Voting boardVI 1a9
IndependentVI 1b7
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$601K
Government grantsLn 1e$64K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$880K
Other incomeLn 4–11$15K
Total revenueLn 12$1.5M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$658K
SavingsLn 2$11K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$668K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$2K
Total assetsLn 16$883K
LiabilitiesLn 26$184K
Net assetsLn 32$699K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 57
VolunteersI 628
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13No
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY21End FY21
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$614K$668K
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$4K$2K
Total assetsLn 16$784K$883K
LiabilitiesLn 26$280K$184K
Net assetsLn 32$504K$699K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$122K$64K$46K$11K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$247K$131K$94K$22K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8$13K$7K$5K$1K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$70K$37K$27K$6K
Payroll taxesLn 10$27K$14K$10K$2K
Accounting feesLn 11c$33K$33K
Professional fundraising feesLn 11e$12K$12K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$212K$210K$2K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$30K$29K$595
Office expensesLn 13$145K$129K$9K$7K
OccupancyLn 16$20K$10K$7K$2K
TravelLn 17$932$699$140$93
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$7K$4K$3K$599
InsuranceLn 23$4K$2K$1K$336
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$342K$304K$34K$3K
All other expensesLn 24e$17K$10K$6K$1K
Total functional expensesLn 25$1.3M$952K$276K$73K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $1.0M$842K$183K$560K 990 PDF
FY2024 $1.1M$1.0M$78K$377K 990 PDF
FY2023 $888K$1.1M−$237K$299K 990 PDF
FY2022 $1.0M$1.2M−$160K$539K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $1.5M$1.3M$195K$699K 990 PDF
FY2020 $1.1M$1.0M$130K$504K 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 FY2021 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $1,495,790 across 6 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$64,400
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$536,383
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$600,783
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $880,213$880,213
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Unrelated business $14,794$14,794
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $880,213 · Unrelated business $14,794 · Excluded from tax $0$1,495,790
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $1,300,810 across 16 lines filed
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $64,436 · Management $46,199 · Fundraising $10,942$121,577
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $130,744 · Management $93,741 · Fundraising $22,201$246,686
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms $6,700 · Management $4,804 · Fundraising $1,138$12,642
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $37,338 · Management $26,771 · Fundraising $6,340$70,449
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $14,413 · Management $10,334 · Fundraising $2,448$27,195
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $33,283$33,283
IX-11e Professional fundraising feesFundraising $12,500$12,500
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $210,088 · Fundraising $2,000$212,088
IX-12 Advertising and promotionPrograms $29,174 · Fundraising $595$29,769
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $128,820 · Management $8,792 · Fundraising $7,439$145,051
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $10,384 · Management $7,445 · Fundraising $1,763$19,592
IX-17 TravelPrograms $699 · Management $140 · Fundraising $93$932
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $3,523 · Management $2,526 · Fundraising $599$6,648
IX-23 InsurancePrograms $1,976 · Management $1,417 · Fundraising $336$3,729
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $304,409 · Management $34,123 · Fundraising $3,437$341,969
IX-24e All other expensesPrograms $9,741 · Management $5,953 · Fundraising $1,006$16,700
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $952,445 · Management $275,528 · Fundraising $72,837$1,300,810
Part X · Balance sheet $883,156 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $538,638$657,548
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $75,188$10,664
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $25,681$65,432
X-8 Inventories for sale or useStart of year $112,840$113,792
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $1,535$12,061
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $3,532$2,284
X-14 Intangible assetsStart of year $26,775$21,375
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $784,189$883,156
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $210,350$178,737
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $5,249$5,249
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $279,999$183,986
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $493,090$699,170
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $11,100$0
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $504,190$699,170
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $784,189$883,156
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $699,170 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$1,495,790
XI-2 Total expenses$1,300,810
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$194,980
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$504,190
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$699,170

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2021 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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