Best Beginnings mobilizies people and resources to ensure all alaska children begin school ready to succeed. Free, quality books to more than 18,000 children 0-5 in over 100 communities. Parent education and community campaigns on early childhood.

501(c)(3) charity; gifts are tax-deductible.
78¢ of each $1 spent went to programs.
$73K paid to officers and key staff.
Mission: Form 990 Part I, line 1 · Status: IRS Pub. 78 · Programs: Part IX · Pay: Part VII

Before you give

FY2023 · 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
0 of 5
filings with a surplus
Average deficit $54K a year · 8% of revenue · last 5 filings
Concern: a surplus in 0 of the last 5 filings.
Pt I · Ln 19 · 5 filings
Spent on programs
78%
of spending
Looks good: 78% of spending went to programs; 75% or more.
Pt IX · Ln 25 · col B
Pay to officers and key staff
$73K
to officers and key staff · 13% of spending
Looks good: pay to officers and key staff is 13% of spending; 15% or less.
Pt VII · Sec A
6 mo
of spending, in cash
Looks good: 6.1 months of spending in cash; 3 or more.
Pt X · Ln 1–2 · Pt I · Ln 18
Named funders
3
named funders · $64K
Looks good: 3 funders name it on their filings; 3 or more.
Funders’ Sch. I, 990-PF
Liabilities
$32K
10% of total assets
Looks good: liabilities are 10% of assets; 50% or less.
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
$552K
-6% vs prior year
Spent
$556K
To programs
78%
Net assets
$289K
By yearFY2020–FY2024
Revenue
$552K
FY2023▼ -6%
Tap a bar for its year
Revenue by fiscal year
FY2020$710K
FY2021$729K
FY2022$586K
FY2023$552K
FY2024$729K
Expenses
$556K
FY2023▼ -11%
Tap a bar for its year
Expenses by fiscal year
FY2020$773K
FY2021$780K
FY2022$624K
FY2023$556K
FY2024$845K
Net assets
$289K
FY2023▼ -1%
Tap a bar for its year
Net assets by fiscal year
FY2020$382K
FY2021$331K
FY2022$293K
FY2023$289K
FY2024$173K

From the FY2023 Form 990 (year ending June 2023) · figures checked against the IRS filing · see the original

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You’re viewing the FY2023 filing — not the latest on file. See the latest (FY2024) →

Is it real?

Yes. Never revoked by the IRS. Latest filing on record: FY2024. IRS ruling in May 2013.

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

Where the money goes

78 cents of each dollar spent went to programs.

Program services 78% · $432K Management & general 17% · $94K Fundraising 5% · $30K

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

6 people listed on the 990; $73K paid to officers and key staff.

Part VII, Section A · reportable compensation · most recent filed roster (FY2022); the FY2023 filing did not itemize Part VII
Executive Di
$73,347Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Secretary
$0Pt VII · Sec A
Treasurer
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A
$0Pt VII · Sec A

Amie Collins’s $93K as Executive Di is at the 81st percentile of top reported officer pay among 1264 $100K–1M philanthropy & grantmaking 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 · 2 named individuals · Part VII

NameFY2024FY2023FY2022FY2021FY2020
Abbe Hensley——$93,923$95,000$95,000
Amie Collins$92,750$73,347———

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 Best Beginnings 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 15aNo

Programs and updates

Provides free books and parent education to prepare young Alaskan children for school success.

Questions for Best Beginnings

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Provided by the organization

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1 program · $432K · in their own filed words · FY2022
01

Literacy and Language Development

Best beginnings is the statewide sponsor of imagination library in alaska and provides training, technical assistance, and some funding to affiliates in alaska.

$432Kprogram 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
Total grants receivedfrom 3 funders$64K
See all 3 funders →
Grants paid · 25 grants · $345K · 2019–2023
Sprout Family ServicesAK · FY2023$6,500
Kodiak Island School DistrictFY2023$5,023
Mat-Su Imagination LibraryFY2022$18,000
Sprout Family ServicesAK · FY2022$5,750
Mat-Su Imagination LibraryFY2021$17,800
Sprout Family ServicesAK · FY2021$5,340
Mat-Su Imagination LibraryFY2020$20,000
See all 25 grants →

By the numbers

The FY2023 990, line by line.

1The main four
Money inPt VIII
$552K
Ln 12
Gifts and grantsLn 1h$616K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$5K
Investment incomeLn 3$2K
Money outPt IX
$556K
Ln 25
Programscol B$432K
Managementcol C$94K
Fundraisingcol D$30K
Owns and owesPt X
$289K
net assets · Ln 32
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$284K
Total assetsLn 16$321K
LiabilitiesLn 26$32K
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$616K
Government grantsLn 1e$341K
Noncash giftsLn 1g$8K
Fundraising eventsLn 1c$112K
Fees for servicesLn 2g$5K
Investment incomeLn 3$2K
Total revenueLn 12$552K
Assets in detailPt X, end of year
SavingsLn 2$284K
Cash and savings togetherLn 1–2$284K
Total assetsLn 16$321K
LiabilitiesLn 26$32K
Net assetsLn 32$289K
OperationsPt I, VI
EmployeesI 56
VolunteersI 652
Fiscal year endsHeaderJune
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 FY23End FY23
Cash and savingsLn 1–2$358K$284K
Total assetsLn 16$371K$321K
LiabilitiesLn 26$79K$32K
Net assetsLn 32$293K$289K
4Every line
Statement of functional expensesPt IX · every line
LineTotalProgramsManagementFundraising
Grants to domestic organizationsLn 1$81K$81K
Pay of current officers, directors and key staffLn 5$73K$73K
Other salaries and wagesLn 7$165K$128K$14K$23K
Payroll taxesLn 10$20K$17K$1K$2K
Legal feesLn 11b$40$40
Accounting feesLn 11c$20K$20K
Other fees for servicesLn 11g$9K$9K
Office expensesLn 13$3K$1K$2K
Information technologyLn 14$13K$7K$2K$4K
OccupancyLn 16$13K$11K$2K
TravelLn 17$390$390
InsuranceLn 23$5K$5K
Other expenses (24a–d)Ln 24$152K$112K$39K$929
Total functional expensesLn 25$556K$432K$94K$30K

Filing history

YearMoney inMoney outIn minus outNet assetsDownload
FY2024 Latest $729K$845K−$116K$173K 990 PDF
FY2023 Viewing $552K$556K−$4K$289K 990 PDF
FY2022 $586K$624K−$38K$293K 990 PDF
FY2021 $729K$780K−$51K$331K 990 PDF
FY2020 $710K$773K−$63K$382K 990 PDF

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Schedules filed Part IV

III · Programs R · Related orgs G · Fundraising L · Interested persons I · Grants A · Public support O · Explanations
See the full FY2023 990 (6 parts)
Part I · Summary $551,648 revenue, 12 lines filed
I-8 Contributions and grantsPrior year $556,267$615,766
I-9 Program service revenuePrior year $28,423$4,549
I-10 Investment incomePrior year $1,214$1,642
I-11 Other revenue−$70,309
I-12 Total revenuePrior year $585,904$551,648
I-13 Grants and similar amounts paidPrior year $83,127$81,200
I-14 Benefits paid to members$0
I-15 Salaries and benefitsPrior year $292,681$259,054
I-16a Professional fundraising fees$0
I-17 Other expensesPrior year $248,073$215,509
I-18 Total expensesPrior year $623,881$555,763
I-19 Revenue less expensesPrior year −$37,977−$4,115
Part VI · Governance 5 of 5 board members independent, 1 to look at
VI-1a Voting members of the governing body5
VI-1b Independent voting members5
VI-15a Process for setting top official's payNo
VI-2 Family or business relationship among officers or directorsNo
VI-12a Written conflict of interest policyYes
VI-13 Written whistleblower policyYes
VI-14 Document retention and destruction policyYes
Part VIII · Statement of revenue $551,648 across 9 lines filed
VIII-1c Fundraising events$111,552
VIII-1e Government grants$340,784
VIII-1f All other contributions, gifts and grants$163,430
VIII-1g Noncash contributions (included above)$7,724
VIII-1h Total contributions, gifts and grants$615,766
VIII-2a-f Program service revenue, itemized rows (sum of 2a–2f as filed)Related to mission $4,549$4,549
VIII-3 Investment incomeExcluded from tax $1,642$1,642
VIII-8 Net income from fundraising events−$70,309
VIII-12 Total revenueRelated to mission $4,549 · Excluded from tax $1,642$551,648
Part IX · Statement of functional expenses $555,763 across 13 lines filed
IX-1 Grants to domestic organizationsPrograms $81,200$81,200
IX-5 Pay of current officers, directors and key staffPrograms $73,347$73,347
IX-7 Other salaries and wagesPrograms $128,263 · Management $13,839 · Fundraising $23,314$165,416
IX-10 Payroll taxesPrograms $16,944 · Management $1,418 · Fundraising $1,929$20,291
IX-11b Legal feesManagement $40$40
IX-11c Accounting feesManagement $19,749$19,749
IX-11g Other fees for servicesManagement $8,578$8,578
IX-13 Office expensesPrograms $1,450 · Management $1,901$3,351
IX-14 Information technologyPrograms $7,127 · Management $2,408 · Fundraising $3,818$13,353
IX-16 OccupancyPrograms $11,392 · Management $1,692$13,084
IX-17 TravelPrograms $390$390
IX-23 InsuranceManagement $5,352$5,352
IX-24 Other expenses (24a–d)Programs $111,917 · Management $38,766 · Fundraising $929$151,612
IX-25 Total functional expensesPrograms $432,030 · Management $93,743 · Fundraising $29,990$555,763
Part X · Balance sheet $320,871 assets, 12 lines filed
X-2 Savings and temporary cash investmentsStart of year $358,032$283,730
X-3 Pledges and grants receivable$28,106
X-4 Accounts receivable$175
X-9 Prepaid expenses and deferred chargesStart of year $10,379$8,860
X-16 Total assetsStart of year $371,398$320,871
X-17 Accounts payable and accrued expensesStart of year $30,876$29,142
X-25 Other liabilitiesStart of year $47,665$2,987
X-26 Total liabilitiesStart of year $78,541$32,129
X-27 Net assets without donor restrictionsStart of year $64,218$31,197
X-28 Net assets with donor restrictionsStart of year $228,639$257,545
X-32 Total net assets or fund balancesStart of year $292,857$288,742
X-33 Total liabilities and net assetsStart of year $371,398$320,871
Part XI · Reconciliation of net assets $288,742 net assets at year end
XI-1 Total revenue$551,648
XI-2 Total expenses$555,763
XI-3 Revenue less expenses−$4,115
XI-4 Net assets at start of year$292,857
XI-10 Net assets at end of year$288,742

Form 990 e-file (XML) FY2023 from the IRS · Classification, formation year and address from the IRS Business Master File

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