To prevent the academic achievement gap among young children living in the lowest income families and communities. Smart empowers parents and caregivers in under-served communities with the tools, resources and support they need to break cycles of chronic school underachievement and generational poverty.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
82¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$120K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

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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
3 of 6
filings with a surplus
Average surplus $50K a year · 2% of revenue · last 6 filings
Worth a look: a surplus in 3 of the last 6 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 6 filings
Spent on programs
82%
of spending
Looks good: 82% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$120K
to officers and key staff · 5% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 5% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
Named funders
13
named funders · $1.1M
Looks good: 13 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$186K
65% of total assets
Fine: liabilities are 65% of assets; 50% to 65%.
Pt X · Ln 26
Looks goodFineWorth a lookConcernNo data yetTap a box for the reason.
Revenue
$2.2M
+12% vs prior year
Spent
$2.4M
To programs
82%
Net assets
$100K
By yearFY2020–FY2025
Revenue
$2.2M
FY2021▲ +12%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$2.0M
FY2021$2.2M
FY2022$2.8M
FY2023$3.1M
FY2024$5.6M
FY2025$2.6M
Expenses
$2.4M
FY2021▲ +35%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$1.8M
FY2021$2.4M
FY2022$2.9M
FY2023$3.0M
FY2024$3.3M
FY2025$4.6M
Net assets
$100K
FY2021▼ -68%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$309K
FY2021$100K
FY2022$10K
FY2023$81K
FY2024$2.4M
FY2025$393K

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 2012.

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

Where the money goes

82 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 82% · $2.0M Management & general 12% · $288K Fundraising 6% · $158K

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

11 people listed on the 990; $120K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2019); the FY2021 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Director
$119,731Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member (former)
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member (former)
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member (former)
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Board Member
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Cherie Craft’s $233K as CEO is at the 94th percentile of top reported officer pay among 3869 $1–10M human services 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

NameFY2025FY2024FY2023FY2022FY2020
Cherie Craft$232,993$200,057$200,057$167,240$119,731
Sophia Girault$158,519$133,397$133,397$104,666—
Marsha Girault-Macias$106,666————
Davis a Douglas$105,804————
Janiya Garrett$101,222————

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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Programs and updates

Empowers families and communities to prevent achievement gaps and break poverty cycles for young children.

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $1.5M · in their own filed words · FY2019
01

To empower and provide low income families and communities with the tools, resources and support necessary to break cycles of chronic underachievement in education and generational poverty through initiatives, programs and activities including, but not limited to (I) parenting workshops, (ii) family support programs, (iii) adult…

$1.5Mprogram expense

Funders

Who pays for it.

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

Grants

Schedule I · received and paid
Grants received · FY2024
See all 13 funders →
Grants paid · 4 grants · $298K · 2021–2024
Unitemized GrantFY2024$124,238
Unitemized GrantFY2024$23,804
The Ward 8 Health CouncilFY2021$75,000
The Ward 8 Health CouncilFY2021$75,000

By the numbers

The FY2021 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$2.2M
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.2M
Money outPt IX
$2.4M
Ln 25
Programscol B$2.0M
Managementcol C$288K
Fundraisingcol D$158K
Owns and owesPt X
$100K
net assets · Ln 32
Total assetsLn 16$286K
LiabilitiesLn 26$186K
PeoplePt VI, VII
11
listed · VII A
PaidVII A1
2In more detail
Revenue in detailPt VIII
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$2.2M
Total revenueLn 12$2.2M
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
Total assetsLn 16$286K
LiabilitiesLn 26$186K
Net assetsLn 32$100K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 550
VolunteersI 673
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2025 Latest $2.6M$4.6M−$1.9M$393K 990 PDF
FY2024 $5.6M$3.3M$2.3M$2.4M 990 PDF
FY2023 $3.1M$3.0M$23K$81K 990 PDF
FY2022 $2.8M$2.9M−$90K$10K 990 PDF
FY2021 Viewing $2.2M$2.4M−$209K$100K 990 PDF
FY2020 $2.0M$1.8M$192K$309K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons A · Public support O · Explanations

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

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