Is it real?
Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2025. IRS ruling in Jul 2010.
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; $131K paid to officers and key staff.
Diana Viscarra’s $103K as Programs Director is at the 34th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3395 $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
| Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | FY2023 | FY2022 | FY2021 | FY2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linda Prieto | $35,370 | $178,938 | $171,833 | $139,138 | $138,332 | $131,498 |
| Diana Viscarra | $103,186 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Marta Dugarte | $101,950 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Anna Dyer | $15,278 | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Helps low-income adults, especially immigrants, continue education for better jobs and to inspire their children.
Questions for Upward Scholars
Your first name shows with your question. Upward Scholars answers here, for everyone.
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Program #2
Student Support Upward Scholars has always helped students overcome barriers to an education that fits into their lives and goals. The Student Support program was expanded in 2020 to include Hardship Assistance to address the immediate need of food insecurity within our student population as coronavirus pandemic took hold.
Program #1
Scholarships Scholarships are provided to underserved students who have attended adult schools and community-based organizations in San Mateo county so they can continue their education in community college.
Program #3
Student Safety Net In 2020 we added a new program to better meet the needs of the people we serve today and meet the future challenges of our changing economic landscape, especially given the pandemic's direct impact on our students. We launched our first ever student Safety Net Fund (SNF) to support students hardest hit by the pandemic.
Funders
Who pays for it.
From grant filings on record. Receipts are incomplete: individual donors are never listed.
Grants
By the numbers
The FY2020 990, line by line.
Download 990
| Line | Start FY20 | End FY20 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and savingsLn 1–2 | $201K | $434K |
| InvestmentsLn 11–13 | $306K | $305K |
| Total assetsLn 16 | $507K | $740K |
| LiabilitiesLn 26 | $6K | $53K |
| Net assetsLn 32 | $501K | $686K |
| Line | Total | Programs | Management | Fundraising |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1 | $5K | $5K | ||
| Grants to domestic individualsLn 2 | $142K | $142K | ||
| Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5 | $144K | $73K | $35K | $36K |
| Other salaries and wagesLn 7 | $103K | $92K | $6K | $5K |
| Pension plan contributionsLn 8 | $3K | $3K | ||
| Other employee benefitsLn 9 | $7K | $5K | $2K | $100 |
| Payroll taxesLn 10 | $18K | $12K | $3K | $3K |
| Accounting feesLn 11c | $13K | $13K | ||
| Professional fundraising feesLn 11e | $8K | $8K | ||
| Other fees for servicesLn 11g | $47K | $17K | $25K | $5K |
| Advertising and promotionLn 12 | $249 | $249 | ||
| Office expensesLn 13 | $15K | $1K | $9K | $5K |
| Information technologyLn 14 | $5K | $2K | $3K | $398 |
| OccupancyLn 16 | $4K | $4K | ||
| TravelLn 17 | $114 | $114 | ||
| Conferences, conventions and meetingsLn 19 | $2K | $2K | $109 | |
| InsuranceLn 23 | $4K | $4K | ||
| Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24 | $3K | $629 | $483 | $2K |
| Total functional expensesLn 25 | $523K | $352K | $103K | $67K |
Filing history
| Year | Money in | Money out | In minus out | Net assets | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 Latest | $1.5M | $1.6M | −$101K | $1.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2024 | $1.2M | $1.3M | −$158K | $1.2M | 990 PDF |
| FY2023 | $1.7M | $1.3M | $367K | $1.4M | 990 PDF |
| FY2022 | $1.2M | $1.0M | $150K | $1.0M | 990 PDF |
| FY2021 | $957K | $777K | $180K | $866K | 990 PDF |
| FY2020 Viewing | $708K | $523K | $186K | $686K | 990 PDF |
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Schedules filed Part IV
See the full FY2020 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $708,306 revenue, 12 lines filed
Part VI · Governance 11 of 11 board members independent, no flags
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $708,306 across 11 lines filed
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $522,708 across 18 lines filed
Part X · Balance sheet $739,591 assets, 10 lines filed
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $686,471 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
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