Universal Vare Charter School

Tax-deductible

Philadelphia, PA501(c)(3)Since 2011EducationEIN 45-0649209

To provide a school-to-career academic program that emphasizes self-sufficiency, civic responsibility and problem solving through mathematics, language arts and the sciences.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
66¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
Run by 5 volunteers and 22 employees.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · People: Part I, lines 5–6

Before you give

FY2024 · 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
FY2024
latest Form 990
Looks good: the latest return is for FY2024, 2 tax years back; within 2 tax years.
IRS e-file · Filing history
Surplus or deficit
5 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $1.1M a year · 25% of revenue · last 5 filings
Looks good: a surplus in 5 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
66%
of spending
Fine: 66% of spending went to programs; 65% to 75%.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$173K
to officers and key staff · 8% of spending
Top officer’s pay higher than 75% of similar orgs
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 8% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Cash reserves
13 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 13.3 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
1
named funder · $20K
Fine: 1 funder names it on their filings; under 3.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$2.0M
65% of total assets
Fine: liabilities are 65% of assets; 50% to 65%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Independent board members
5
of 5 voting members
Looks good: 5 of 5 voting members are independent, a majority.
Pt VI · Ln 1a–1b
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$3.0M
-16% vs prior year
Spent
$2.0M
To programs
66%
Net assets
$1.1M
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$3.0M
FY2024▼ -16%
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$4.6M
FY2021$4.0M
FY2022$5.3M
FY2023$3.9M
FY2024$3.5M
FY2024$3.0M
Expenses
$2.0M
FY2024▼ -31%
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$3.4M
FY2021$2.6M
FY2022$3.3M
FY2023$3.8M
FY2024$3.0M
FY2024$2.0M
Net assets
$1.1M
FY2024▲ +604%
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020−$3.9M
FY2021−$2.5M
FY2022−$548K
FY2023−$396K
FY2024$151K
FY2024$1.1M

From the FY2024 Form 990 · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

Give Claim

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in Sep 2011.

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

Where the money goes

66 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 66% · $1.4M Management & general 34% · $691K

Form 990 Part IX, line 25, columns B–D. Every line is in By the numbers.

Who runs it and what they're paid

6 people listed on the 990; $173K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation
$172,724Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Karen Howell-Toomer’s $173K as Princpal is at the 75th 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 · 1 named individual · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021
Karen Howell-Toomer$172,724$167,074$161,360$150,630$163,169

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 Universal Vare Charter School 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 2No
  • Top official's pay set by an independent reviewPt VI · Ln 15aYes

Programs and updates

Operates a charter school, providing educational programs and community partnerships to support students and families.

Provided by the organization

This section is blank until Universal Vare Charter School claims this page.

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1 program service account for $1.4M of program spending, described in the organization's own filed words · FY2024.
01

The educational program utilizes community resources within the universal vare's immediate neighborhood through a variety of before, during, and after school partnerships with families, businesses, social agencies, civic groups and community organizations to enhance the academic program and to support students and their families.

$1.4Mprogram 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 · FY2020
Elevate 215FY2020$20K
Total grants receivedfrom 1 funder$20K

By the numbers

The FY2024 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$3.0M
Ln 12
Fees for servicesLn 2g$2.3M
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$649K
Investment incomeLn 3$40K
Money outPt IX
$2.0M
Ln 25
Programscol B$1.4M
Managementcol C$691K
Owns and owesPt X
$1.1M
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$2.3M
Total assetsLn 16$3.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.0M
PeoplePt VI, VII
6
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
Voting boardVI 1a5
IndependentVI 1b5
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$649K
Government grantsLn 1e$643K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$7K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$2.3M
Investment incomeLn 3$40K
Other incomeLn 4–11$14K
Total revenueLn 12$3.0M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
CashLn 1$734K
SavingsLn 2$1.5M
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$2.3M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$561
Other assetsLn 15$95K
Total assetsLn 16$3.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.0M
Net assetsLn 32$1.1M
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 522
VolunteersI 65
Fiscal year endsHeaderDecember
Conflict-of-interest policyVI 12aYes
Whistleblower policyVI 13Yes
Records policyVI 14Yes
3Year over year
Balance sheet, start vs end of yearPt X · col A, B
LineStart FY24End FY24
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$1.7M$2.3M
Land, buildings, equipmentLn 10c$84K$561
Total assetsLn 16$2.7M$3.0M
LiabilitiesLn 26$2.5M$2.0M
Net assetsLn 32$151K$1.1M
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$990K$600K$390K
Pension plan contributionsLn 8−$302K−$36K−$267K
Other employee benefitsLn 9$220K$144K$76K
Payroll taxesLn 10$74K$45K$29K
Management feesLn 11a$64K$64K
Accounting feesLn 11c$112K$112K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$220K$171K$49K
Advertising and promotionLn 12$2K$2K
Office expensesLn 13$35K$35K
Information technologyLn 14$121K$6K$115K
TravelLn 17$22K$22K
InterestLn 20$8K$8K
Depreciation, depletion and amortizationLn 22$83K$51K$33K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$396K$353K$43K
All other expensesLn 24e$3K$3K
Total functional expensesLn 25$2.0M$1.4M$691K$0

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 $3.5M$3.0M$547K$151K 990 PDF
FY2023 $3.9M$3.8M$152K−$396K 990 PDF
FY2022 $5.3M$3.3M$1.9M−$548K 990 PDF
FY2021 $4.0M$2.6M$1.4M−$2.5M 990 PDF
FY2020 $4.6M$3.4M$1.2M−$3.9M 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 FY2024 990 (4 parts)
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $2,956,545 across 8 lines filed
VIII-1e Government grants$642,756
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$6,252
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$6,886
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$649,008
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $2,254,439$2,254,439
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $39,542$39,542
VIII-11a-d Other revenue, itemized rows (sum of 11a–11d as filed)Related to mission $13,556$13,556
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $2,267,995 · Unrelated business $0 · Excluded from tax $39,542$2,956,545
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $2,047,911 across 15 lines filed
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $599,561 · Management $390,162$989,723
IX-8 Pension plan contributionsPrograms −$35,548 · Management −$266,588−$302,136
IX-9 Other employee benefitsPrograms $144,416 · Management $75,792$220,208
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $45,370 · Management $29,041$74,411
IX-11a Management feesManagement $64,159$64,159
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $111,980$111,980
IX-11g Other fees for servicesPrograms $171,046 · Management $48,731$219,777
IX-12 Advertising and promotionManagement $1,690$1,690
IX-13 Office expensesManagement $35,315$35,315
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $6,216 · Management $114,670$120,886
IX-17 TravelPrograms $22,106$22,106
IX-20 InterestManagement $7,947$7,947
IX-22 Depreciation, depletion and amortizationPrograms $50,525 · Management $32,879$83,404
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $353,102 · Management $42,578$395,680
IX-24e All other expensesManagement $2,761$2,761
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $1,356,794 · Management $691,117 · Fundraising $0$2,047,911
Part X · Balance sheet $3,042,777 assets, 15 lines filed
X-1 Cash, non-interest-bearingStart of year $714,698$734,211
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $1,003,039$1,542,581
X-3 Pledges and grants receivableStart of year $219,175$237,557
X-4 Accounts receivableStart of year $1,485$93,194
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $484,175$339,497
X-10c Land, buildings and equipment, netStart of year $83,965$561
X-15 Other assetsStart of year $184,482$95,176
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $2,691,019$3,042,777
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $220,471$276,313
X-19 Deferred revenueStart of year $18,474$1,809
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $2,301,557$1,705,504
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $2,540,502$1,983,626
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $150,517$1,059,151
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $150,517$1,059,151
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $2,691,019$3,042,777
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $1,059,151 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$2,956,545
XI-2 Total expenses$2,047,911
XI-3 Revenue less expenses$908,634
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$150,517
XI-9 Other changes in net assets$0
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$1,059,151

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2024 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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