Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Mar 1976.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
67 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
17 people listed on the 990; $166K paid to officers and key staff.
Tim Benz’s $166K as President is at the 97th percentile of top reported officer pay among 1613 $100K–1M 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Benz | $165,584 | $168,529 | $148,540 | $152,460 | $135,909 |
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
Empowers Minnesota independent schools with training, resources, and advocacy for student-centered learning.
Questions for Minndependent
Your first name shows with your question. Minndependent answers here, for everyone.
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Minndependent empowers schools to fulfill their missions by connecting them to opportunities for funding, support and know-how to expand and improve their stem or other high-priority PROGRAMS.MINNDEPENDENT'S stem program has three components: (1) stem grants that support schools to create, improve and expand stem offerings for students…
Minndependent membership consisted of 181 schools serving 41,352 students. Total membership consisted of 95 schools that serve elementary grades (k-8), 21 schools that serve grades (k-12), 4 schools that serve grades (7-12), 20 schools that serve high school grades (9-12), and 41 schools that serve unique grade ranges (k-12).
Our professional development program matches schools with exceptional content providers to inspire learning, fuel innovation and create transformative education experiences that convey best practices and address challenges impacting the sector.
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 | $854K | $899K |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $2K | $159 |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $946K | $960K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $54K | $37K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $893K | $923K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $44K | $44K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $178K | $89K | $59K | $30K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $120K | $101K | $6K | $14K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $13K | $7K | $4K | $1K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $13K | $8K | $3K | $2K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $23K | $14K | $5K | $3K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $72K | $72K | ||
| Lobbying feesLn 11d | $20K | $20K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $80K | $76K | $4K | |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $6K | $6K | $404 | $277 |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $16K | $12K | $3K | $1K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $21K | $13K | $5K | $3K |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $28K | $18K | $6K | $4K |
| TravelLn 17 | $908 | $888 | $2 | $18 |
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $60K | $58K | $346 | $833 |
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $2K | $2K | ||
| InsuranceLn 23 | $2K | $2K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $993 | $786 | $82 | $125 |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $341 | $341 | ||
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $699K | $469K | $169K | $60K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest Viewing | $729K | $699K | $30K | $923K | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $882K | $654K | $228K | $893K | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $813K | $682K | $131K | $664K | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $725K | $637K | $88K | $533K | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | Not on file | ||||
| FY2020 | $762K | $781K | −$19K | $373K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2025 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $728,534 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 16 of 17 board members independent, 1 to look at
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $728,534 across 5 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $698,507 across 19 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $960,045 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $922,611 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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