Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Feb 1975.
IRS Pub. 78 · IRS Auto-Revocation List · IRS Business Master File
Where the money goes
82 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
21 people listed on the 990; $633K paid to officers and key staff.
Berta Sailer’s $281K as Founder is at the 61st percentile of top reported officer pay among 3683 $10–100M 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 · 8 named individuals · Part VII
| Name | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berta Sailer | $280,856 | $304,152 | $271,194 | $142,865 | $132,802 |
| Mary Esselman | $198,995 | $200,139 | $195,344 | $189,643 | $172,181 |
| Mike Thomas | — | — | $136,082 | $138,521 | — |
| James Michael Thomas | — | — | — | — | $124,991 |
| Mary Mulkey | $120,499 | $112,192 | $102,136 | $101,546 | — |
| Kimmikka Brown | $114,518 | — | — | — | — |
| Patricia Thompson | $110,054 | — | — | — | — |
| Corita Bussanmas | — | — | — | — | $107,900 |
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 Operation Breakthrough INC 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
Provides early childhood education, after-school enrichment, and supportive family services to help low-income children and their families thrive in a safe, nurturing environment.
Questions for Operation Breakthrough INC
Your first name shows with your question. Operation Breakthrough INC answers here, for everyone.
Early Childhood Education Program for Preschoolers & Infants
Served approximately 409 preschoolers & infants, before and after school (413 school aged children) and summer youth programs (357 school aged children). Operated at or near capacity for fye 10-31-2020. Supportive services include health, mental health, family services and emergency assistance.
Provided meals for enrolled children. Programs are subsidized by usda for approved low income children. Meals include a hot breakfast & lunch and an afternoon snack.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
Federal money
The auditor reported no findings.
The auditor reported no findings.
The auditor reported no findings.
The auditor reported no findings.
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $5.4M | $8.8M |
| Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c | $11.4M | $11.1M |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $28.8M | $30.8M |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $1.1M | $1.3M |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $27.7M | $29.5M |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $299K | $239K | $18K | $42K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $8.3M | $6.9M | $1.1M | $346K |
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $915K | $763K | $115K | $37K |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $687K | $528K | $120K | $38K |
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $583K | $242K | $207K | $133K |
| Office expensesLn 13 | $7K | $7K | ||
| OccupancyLn 16 | $887K | $849K | $31K | $7K |
| TravelLn 17 | $5K | $5K | $8 | |
| InterestLn 20 | $46K | $46K | ||
| Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22 | $637K | $554K | $66K | $17K |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $278K | $255K | $9K | $14K |
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $1.1M | $1.0M | $40K | $15K |
| All other expensesLn 24e | $321K | $179K | $136K | $6K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $14.0M | $11.5M | $1.9M | $663K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2024 LatestFiled with the IRS Jul 25, 2025 | $19.5M | $17.7M | $1.8M | $37.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023Filed with the IRS Sep 16, 2024 | $18.0M | $16.2M | $1.8M | $34.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022Filed with the IRS Sep 14, 2023 | $16.7M | $17.4M | −$719K | $32.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021Filed with the IRS Sep 14, 2022 | $19.1M | $15.0M | $4.1M | $33.6M | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 ViewingFiled with the IRS Aug 10, 2021 | $15.9M | $14.0M | $1.8M | $29.5M | 990 PDF |
Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $15,851,429 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 16 of 16 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $15,851,429 across 12 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $14,048,488 across 13 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $30,816,270 assets, 15 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $29,512,896 net assets at year end
Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2020 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File
Similar organizations you could support · Compare with another nonprofit
Names, privacy, and removal requests More
The names, titles, and compensation shown on this page are reproduced from IRS Form 990 filings, which are public records.
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.
We publish only information contained in the public IRS filing — and less than the filing contains. Our profile pages do not display street 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, corrections must be made by the filing organization or the IRS directly.